Ten Days
by xMeredy
Summary: Ruki's mom sets her up for an arranged marriage with...Ryo! Despite her refusal, Ryo makes a bet he can make her fall in love with him in ten days. Ryuki. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Ten Days

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon. However, this is FANfiction which means I can stretch the characters the way I please (with respect of the original authors of course.) I love Digimon too much to stretch the characters out tooo much, so you should (hopefully) find this story mostly in character though.

Yaaay, Ryuki love!

(Updates) 6/17/08 - Beginning to rewrite some of the chapters. Not too much has been changed from the original, though.  
I apologize for any formatting mistakes you may find. The system randomly changes some of my formatting whenever I upload the document/chapter sometimes, and I can't catch every little thing :X

**CHAPTER ONE:** The Challenge

* * *

It was pink. Not only that, it was covered in other undesirable objects, such as flowers, lace, and butterflies. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance as I glanced at the heavilly decorated dress to my mother's excited expression as she held the monstrosity towards me - eager for me to try it on.

I, however, had other thoughts.

"I already tried modeling for you mom, and I'd very much appreciate it if I didn't have to try again. Especially wearing something like THAT," I answered at my mother's pouty face. I think she forgot that the last time I agreed to a photo shoot I had given the camera man a black eye as a souveneir.

"Why not, Ruki, honey? I quite like it. It's a very pretty dress - and it would look ever so nice on you!" My mom gushed, waving it in my face.

"You know that I don't like pink, and yet you insist on me wearing it..." I trailed off. My mother, Rumiko Makino, was a famous model. She hoped I would follow in her career dreams. The goals I'd set up for myself were far, far, _far_, off in the other spectrum of modeling and dresses. Even though I'd tried my best to convince my mom to give up, she persisted on.

She paused for a second, slightly withdrawing the fluffy monster. Her lips were still puckered into a pout, and she looked down at the floor as she tried to think of something. I used the silence as an advantage.

"Look, mom, I already promised to meet up with my friends. I'll be back later. Byee," I dashed off quickly before my mom could catch me.

Ruki Makino in a pink, fluffy dress? Impossible.

I was at the Juri's house in less than ten minutes where I had promised to meet up with the Tamers to watch movies (however, on my way out I was ambushed by my mom and the said pink dress.) I saw Takato and a couple others waiting outside the door; I guess they were waiting for me to arrive.

"Sorry for getting her so late!" I called, jogging towards them.

"Alright, we can start the movie marathon!" Kazu annonced excitedly (posing without fail), and we retreated inside.

"Where's Ryo?" Takato asked. "I was hoping he would be coming with you..."

"And why would you think that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice cool, but an icy tone escaped from my lips. Akiyama Ryo had always been my rival. From digimon cards to fanclubs, he just seemed so much _better_ than I was. It aggrivated me how little I could do compared to him.

"Well, er--" Takato looked into my eyes, frightened. Even though we'd been together for so long, I could still scare him. He turned the other way distractedly crying, "Hey Juri!" It had taken about another year before Juri and Takato _finally_ started going out - but it happened, and it was fairly an exciting advancement between the two of them.

We watched a couple of movies, talking in between and having a good time. Hours later in the midst of our playing, we all headed home for dinner - waving each other goodbye. I walked back slowly. My mom would either be extremely super angry or extremely super depressed. Either one would have an unhappy outcome for the rest of dinner, and possible the next three weeks. It's only my mom who can beat me at sulking and rampaging, afterall.

I sighed. Now that we were no longer elementary school kiddies, we had tons of work to do. This resulted in less time hanging out. Months had passed since the days of the Digimon Tamers. I really missed those times. Especially Renamon...I wonder how she was doing. But, we were growing up. College, exams, and jobs were right around the corner and we had to prepare for our futures. We only had little time before abandoning the lifestyles of childhood and enter the workforce.

Suddenly, something from behind grabbed my shoulders - I yanked them away and turned around ready to kick the idiot who dared, but something grabbed me again and I felt a cloth press against my face...and then...nothing...

--

My consciousness came back to me and my eyes flew open to find myself in an unfamiliar room. I jumped up from the chair I was sitting it and examined the place - bleak wallpaper, flowery lampshades...this could only mean I was in a...hotel? Then everything fell back in place - I'd been walking home from Juri's house and I'd been...ambushed...or attacked by something. This could be something serious! Someone may be planning to throw a ransom at my mom...or try to make me...I hurried past the bed and reached the door - jiggling the doorknob, attempting to get out - it was locked, of course. Just my luck.

I looked around to see if there was anything to use to try to unlock the door, an axe would work too, then I could just hack the wood apart...as I walked back into the depths of the room the door flew open revealing a black-suited man.

"Miss Makino, you are to--"

"HIII-YAAA!" I cried, knocking him out where the sun didn't shine. I faced the hallway in a battle position when I realized something tight was tugging against my stomach - I looked down to see someone had changed my clothes into a sleek black night-gown. I would've agreed the dress looked quite nice if it weren't for the fact flowers were sprinkled at the bottom...

Then more conclusions came to me - the only person that would force me to wear flowers would be...

"Ruki, honey! Why did you knock-out my manager!" My mom exclaimed, rushing into the room.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ABOUT?!" I yelled, tugging at the dress and gesturing at our surroundings. I often disagreed with my mother, but this was pushing it waaay too far. Anger filled my veins as I glared at her - demanding answers.

"Well, after you left I called my manager to help tail you. I knew you wouldn't come unless it came to force, but I had to do it!" My mom said.

"But...WHAT THE CRAP IS GOING ON?!" I screamed, frustrated.

"Honey, don't you remember?" My mom asked, exasperated.

"WELL, OBVIOUSLY NOT!" I cried, rolling my eyes to enhance my statement.

"I arranged you a fiance last week! You wanted to go out with your friends and I said you could go as long as you did me a favor...and this was it!"

"...that doesn't count as telling me what's going on! And--" I paused, "Wait. Did you just say you set up a FIANCE for me?" New anger broiled over my old. How the hell did hanging out with my friends have to exchange with possibly getting married with a random stranger? How old fashioned. How traitorous! How...so much like my mom.

"Please Ruki, at least meet him...he's quite nice..." my mom went off talking about my mystery future husband...scratch that, my mystery future death target. Ideas formulated in my mind - if I _killed_ the guy there would be no fiance for this fiance deal.

"Alright, I'll meet him, but that's IT. I'm not agreeing to any of this fiance stuff, or--" but my mom cut of the rest of my words with a squeal as she took my hand and dragged me to the elevators - we entered the first one going up and she jabbed the button marked with an eight.

I began planning how I would torture my new enemy and laughed to myself, my mom took this as a sign of excitement and grinned even wider.

The elevator halted at the eight floor, and we climbed out and headed left. My mother navigated through many hallways and I followed behind. The walls were filled of pictures of my mom's (modeling work, I guessed) which probably meant she was able to dine at this place for free. We entered and overly fancy restaurant, and from what I could tell from its name, it served Italian food.

"Why?" I asked suddenly, as a waiter ushered us to our table.

"Why what?"

"Why the fiance?" I rephrased.

"Oh, well a friend of mine thought her son would make a good match for you and--"

"You're matchmaking because you _FEEL_ like it?" I questioned, I was about to scream at her again, but we'd reached our table - and sitting down right across from me was Akiyama Ryo.

--

"This is total hell," I said, glaring at him, of all the people my mom could be friends with it had to be the mother of that...that...show-off!

"Hey there, wildcat," Ryo grinned. The two moms squeaked in delight - I picked up something like "just met," and "cute nicknames!"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Words, Ruki, words..."

"What the _bloody_ hell are you doing here?"

"Well, obviously, we're getting married in a week," he explained as if it was plain as day.

"...and you're FINE with it? You aren't going to argue? Fight back?" I asked, in disbelief that he could care less about something this important. I could hear our mothers muttering in the background - probably ordering our dinner from our waiter.

When he didn't answer my question, I slammed my fist on the table. He only smiled wider, looking at me in amusement. I started on another topic, "So you ditched watching movies with us earlier to play prettyboy?" I asked coldly.

"As you have pointed out, this wasn't my choice. Ah, look - our food has arrived, pumpkin." I groaned. I turned at my mom to protest - but when I looked at her...I couldn't. She was beaming at me, looking the happiest I've ever seen her. I admit, I don't always see face to face with my mom, but I do care about her. And, I could deal for a night. I could probably brainstorm an idea to snuff Ryo later..

I ate the rest of dinner in silence, although I didn't give up. I continued to throw Ryo dark looks when my mom wasn't looking. After the plates were tucked away my mom started on the terrible subject again as dessert was served.

"So, where should we hold the wedding?" My mom asked, in an excited voice.

My hand stopped as I reached for a spoon.

"There was a lovely church near our house I spotted the other day..." Mrs. Akiyama replied - equally excited as my mother. "You know Ruki, I've always wanted a little girl! Well, I got Ryo instead...and I guess he's fine...sort of..." she joked.

I felt a little sympathetic for her - but I couldn't let that bring me down from my objective.

"I know you guys are having fun arranging our, er-- marriage, but, really, I'm only fifteen and I need some room to breathe, and--"

"...and at fifteen you're busy deciding your future! So I thought I'd help by arranging your husband so you wouldn't have to worry about boys when you were older!"

"I can do that myself just fine!" I rolled my eyes - although this was a lie. It was true, I had to say, that I was fairly popular among the boys at school. They were all idiots, but it was something.

"But Ruki, you're always up in your room studying or out with your friends. Otherwise, you really have no social life..."

"Poor wildcat," I heard Ryo comment in the background.

"You!" I roared, "aren't you protesting against this?"

"Not really, I don't care," Ryo shrugged, but kept a smile on his face.

"Awww, how cuuute!" Impatience ticked on.

"Excuse me," I said as calmly as I could, and I made my way out the restaurant.

I walked on until I reached a door that led outdoors - gladly, I opened the door and walked out. There were a couple of tables cluttered here, and there was a balcony where you could look out and see the floors below. I leaned up against the ledge of the balcony. A breeze blew into my hair, and it calmed my thoughts a bit. I closed my eyes.

"Hey pumpkin," a taunting voice said behind me. Of course, stupid Ryo would follow me. I ignored him. "You shouldn't be mad at them, you know."

"Who said I was mad?" I questioned.

"Well, you walked out--"

"I'm FURIOUS!" I cried, throwing up my hands in frustration. He laughed, and stood next to me.

"You're cute when you're mad."

"Furious," I corrected.

"Yeah, furious. Cute," Ryo repeated.

"Thanks for the information."

We stood in silence, watching people past by below us, hearing cars buzz around. An odd comforting feeling filled me having him next to me - and, suddenly, I felt very self-conscious of him standing next to me.

"How is the Digimon King doing?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

"Reasonably well, I suppose. Didn't know you were worried."

"Curious, not worried."

Silence filled the air again.

"Ten days."

"What?" I stood up properly and looked at him in confusion.

"Ten days," he repeated, following me and looking at me directly in the eye. He was looking so serious, I took a step back in confusion. The few times Ryo pulled on a straight face were times of ominous announcements.

"...right...I'm going to head back..." He grabbed my wrist.

"Ten days! In ten days, I, Akiyama Ryo, will make Makino Ruki fall in love with me!" I looked at him in wide-eyed shock and terror at his words, but regained my composure.

"And, I, Makino Ruki, refuse to fall in love with Akiyama Ryo in the next ten days or face unearthly torture."

"Is that a bet?" Ryo's faced cracked into a sly grin, excitement growing on his face.

"You betcha."

And so, the challenge began.


	2. First day and a half

I finished this chapter days ago, but I was hoping I'd get a couple more reviews before posting (-shot-) -cough- I'm hoping this time around I get at least 15 (more is always nice though) reviews, so readers please help by sending me a review T.T I appreciate anything that you write up (unless it's a downright flame...constructive criticism is always welcome) but please take your time to contribute! Thaaanks!

--

**Super special thanks to - anon, In Darkness is Light, katy007, Shotgirl, BabyDark, darkruki008, theamazingbouncing...HAMSTER, Emily & Fletcher for leaving a review!**  
It's always reviews that give me inspiration keep writing, so I really am thankful to recieve them! -showers you guys with imaginary flowers-

Also, thanks to DistantAtumnMountain, Shanna1003, Botan and Kurama lover, darkruki1008, In Darkness is Light, and BabyDark for adding me/my story to their favorites or alerts.

Update (6/18/08) – Currently editing and rewriting the chapters. It'll be generally the same, though. While I was looking back I realize I haven't mentioned JENRYA at all. So, he has one line of fame in this chapter that I tacked on while I was editing. I promise he will make more appearances soon (because you all love him, right?)  
Sometimes when I upload my chapters, the formatting gets totally messed up. It would be a big help if you guys pointed it out when it happens. Thanks.

**Chapter two: Day one and a half**

_"Ten days! In ten days, I, Akiyama Ryo, will make Makino Ruki fall in love with me!" I looked at him in wide-eyed shock and terror at his words, but regained my composure._

_"And, I, Makino Ruki, refuse to fall in love with Akiyama Ryo in the next ten days or face unearthly torture."_

_"Is that a bet?" Ryo's faced cracked into a sly grin, excitement growing on his face._

_"You betcha."_

_And so, the challenge began._

"Good morning, Ruki!" Juri chirped brightly.

"Morning," I echoed, yawning deeply.

"Didn't get enough sleep last night?"

"You can say that..."

"Why? Something bothering you?" Juri looked at me with a concerned expression. I regained my composure and shook my head quickly.

"It's really nothing; I have...insomnia..." I lied.

"Oh. I thought it had something to do with a boy…you just had that sort of expression on your face...but I guess it was a false alarm," Juri said, smiling.

Damn. This girl was good.

Before the Tamers era, I used to attend an all girls' private school. I absolutely hated it there. With some persuasion, my mom let me enroll in a public school. (She had been delighted hearing that that nice Jenrya kid would be there.)

I laid my head on my desk and closed my eyes - attempting to get a few minutes' rest before lessons began. There was an ache in the back of my head from my lack of sleep the previous night and nothing I did would help soothe it out. (I tried to whack myself on the back of my head with a hammer, but my grandmother caught me...)

A clang of bells rang and to my disappointment class began. Our chubby homeroom teacher made her way into the classroom - grinning a little too broadly.

"Ahem, class! We have a new student with us today..." The teacher blushed and put a hand to her face, chuckling like a over matured baby. How I couldn't see something this clichéd happen... "Please enter!"

Even though the forthcoming event had been foreshadowed, I still fell out of my chair in utter and complete shock as the new kid walked in. I snapped up again, standing, as I pointed an angry accusatory finger towards the front of the room "YOU!"

Murmurs (and giggles) filled the room at my abrupt statement - and that's when I remembered I was smack in the middle of a classroom full of hormonal teenagers. I sat back down in my desk - clearing my throat. The eyes darted back to the front of the room where the blue-eyed, auburn-haired new guy smiled at me.

"Hey there, wildcat!" A hyperactive Ryo responded and saluted me.

--

"Hey, Ryo!" Kazu and Kenta were excited to see Ryo. No, that was a lie - they looked like two crazy fan girls clinging and swooning over him.

"It's been such a long time, Ryo! How have you been?" Jenrya asked as he gave Ryo a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Been pretty good!" Ryo responded, punching him back. The two grinned at each other.

"It's glad to see the whole gang together!" Takato said.

"Sure is!" Juri agreed.

Uh, yeah, for some of us.

I walked straight to the lunch line (trying to avoid the undersireable one). No matter where you go – private or public school – they seem to serve the same old mush nationwide. I pointed at a random blob in front of me and the lunch lady plopped it onto tray. I paid and headed towards the usual spot we sat. Juri and Takato were the only ones there.

"Umm, Takato. I packed you a bento," Juri said.

"Thanks Juri! It looks good!" Takato replied, beaming.

I tried to hold back a twitch, trying to be polite to my friends. Instead, I mad my way to the end of the table to let the lovebirds be. Unfortunately, that option was not quite that smart.

"I'm touched that you want to sit by me," a voice said next to me. I looked up and took into account exactly where I had relocated my seat. Ryo's face grinned down at me. I got up to move again, but soon the others had filled up the other remaining seats. I resolved by ignoring him for the rest of lunch - which was fairly easy since he kept quiet throughout.

"So, Ruki, you wanna see a movie today?" Ryo asked, as he followed me to toss away my trash.

"Is that a death wish?" I questioned sarcastically.

"No, a date request."

"Obviously, the answer is no." I rolled my eyes as I dumped my lunch tray into a large trash bin.

"You're making it really hard for me to accomplish my goal in ten days."

I stopped in my tracks, looking at him wide-eyed. "I thought you were kidding."

"Well, just to let you know - I'm dead serious. So why won't you come along with me this afternoon?" A smile.

"It would give you an advantage." I leered, rolling my eyes again. (…I should probably keep a count of how many times that I roll my eyes in a day. Or maybe how many times Ryo makes me have to roll my eyes everyday.)

"Well, I have to attack while I can. Day one, aftera-"

"Actually, it would be day two. Yesterday was day one," I corrected.

"Hey! That isn't fair!" Ryo frowned, "You rampaged back home yesterday after our talk! I didn't even see you for the rest of the day! C'mon, Ruki! You can't pull something like this on me!"

"But," I said, "the challenge was made yesterday, so it started yesterday. Today's day two."

"One."

"Two."

"One."

"TWO!"

"One."

"TWO!"

"One."

"TWO, DAMMNIT!"

Silence.

"...one and a half?"

"FINE!" I said exasperated – too tired to even bother responding. Now that I thought about it, it wasn't even worth arguing over. Sigh.

I wondered idly how he could keep smiling through all that. The bell rang, thankfully - I collected my things from the lunch table and zoomed off to my next class. Ryo bobbled along behind me, humming some show tune - obviously in a good mood. I wondered how on earth it was possible for someone to be so cheerful all the time and-

My thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey, wildcat!"

"What is it, Akiyama?" I stressed his name, as a reminder he should address me the same way. When he didn't respond, I stopped and turned around. He poked my nose and ran ahead, laughing his head off like a Kindergartener. He's dead.

"Why are you following me?" I snapped.

"Don't you know? I have all the same classes with you!" Ryo exclaimed as if it was the most brilliant idea ever.

"You...what?"

"Aww, you're excited?" He brought his grinning face very close to mine. Too close. I could feel butterflies flapping around in my stomach. My cheeks were burning. He backed me into a wall - I blinked rapidly. A retort shot up my tongue and stopped in its tracks. I licked my lips nervously as I felt my heart beating fast against my chest.

I acted without thinking - next thing I knew Ryo was on the floor with a bloody nose and my hand was stinging a bit - rolled up in a fist.

"...oops," was all I could manage to say.

--

I sat silently next to Ryo's bed in the nurse's office, reading a book for English. Once in a while, I drew my gaze away from the text to check on Ryo. My punch had knocked him unconscious (along with his bloody nose, of course). A herd of Ryo's fangirls began yelling and screaming (one of them thought I killed him...) - which caused the teachers to come out and see what the commotion was. One of the male teachers carried Ryo's body to the nurse's office, and I was put to the duty of watching him until he woke up (and whenever he did I would be given a very strict lecture on "hallway safety!")

I sighed as I plucked through the pages - the book was dead boring. A corny romance about a cold-hearted girl and a kind boy who argue a lot and have a bet. Yet, in the middle of the book, the girl starts to-

I heard a yawn from beside me and quickly looked over at Ryo - who was rubbing his eyes. I stared at his bandaged nose, wondering how badly I had hit him. He opened his eyes slowly and his brown eyes caught onto mine. He looked at me unblinkingly - looking somewhat peaceful.

"Hey there," he greeted, smiling with one corner of his mouth tilted upwards. I averted my eyes to the corner of the bed as I spoke. Okay. So, perhaps maybe he was just the tinniest bit cute. I felt a flush creep onto my cheeks.

"Does it hurt?" I asked grudgingly, trying to calm my hormones.

"Does what hurt?" Ryo asked with a false air of confusion. He was milking it.

"What else?" I asked, my temper almost at its limit.

"My heart? Yes. I'm very heart-broken that my beloved fiancé had injured me so," Ryo replied, grasping his heart dramatically. I had an urge to punch him again, but I held back (I had already earned a detention the next day...)

"Well?" I asked, when he didn't respond.

"Nahh, not anymore. Nurse did a good job," he wrinkled his nose. Why does he have to be so darn cute?! I can't - wait a minute! Did I just…?

I got up and began banging my head on the wall.

"Ruki! What are you doing?!" Ryo exclaimed, he jumped out of bed and took hold of my shoulders.

"Giving...myself...a...concussion..." I said in between smacks.

"Stop!" His voice was no longer coy and happy, dropping to a worried octave. His grip on my shoulders tightened. "Ruki, cut it out! You could seriously hurt yourself! VIOLENCE IS NOT THE ANSWER!"

He yanked me backwards, and then I was tumbling downwards - I closed my eyes getting ready for impact as I hit the hard floor...but nothing happened. Something broke the fall, and I was a bit afraid to find out what that something exactly was...

I opened my eyes slowly and stared right into Ryo's face - smiling crookedly again.

"Ew..." I said - I pushed against the floor to lift myself off of him, but his arms bound around me and held me down. I looked at his face and his smile shown even more profoundly.

"I quite like this position."

"Well, I don't," I said stubbornly - still struggling to break free of his hold. I tried not looking at him, because I could feel the heat on my face. I was most definitely blushing right now. I leaned to the right a little too far and we rolled over - now him on top of me. I gasped, and I felt my blush deepen. I heard voices coming from outside, and I watched in terror as the principal, school nurse, our homeroom teacher, and mothers walk into the office.

--

"It's not what you think!" I cried, but my mom refused to listen to me as she drove back home. She smiled so widely it was as if a ray of sunshine struck her.

"I didn't know you'd grow to like him so quickly!" My mom gave a giggle that reminded me of a five year old. "Then, again, Ryo-pyun is such a looker! Oooh, you guys are advancing so quickly! It reminds me of those days when I was young…"

Ryo-pyun?

"It was an ACCIDENT," I covered my voice in ice, but I could tell she wouldn't believe me.

I groaned and looked out the window. As my eyes glazed over the outside view I noticed that my surroundings were different - this wasn't the way towards home. I gave my mom a suspicious look.

"Where are we going?"

"Shopping!" My mom exclaimed a little too quickly, I saw a bit of fear in her eyes as she glanced around - avoiding eye contact. My suspicions deepened as I continued to question her.

"Shopping where?"

"...at a store..."

"..in?"

"...in town!"

"Is that all you-?" I asked, but the car came to a sudden halt and the next thing I knew my mom kicked me in my backside and I was flying out the door into the street.

"I'LL PICK YOU UP LATER AT EIGHT!" My mom called, and the car sped away.

I stood up and dusted the dust off my pants then turned around to try to confirm my location. I spotted a movie theatre behind me - Ryo was there waving at me to join him. Ugh. So this was the evil plan my mother had hatched. Yes, let the poor, defenseless, injured Ryo have his way...Ohhh, I would join him all right...but if he was missing an arm tomorrow morning...

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" I roared once I close enough to him.

"Our date, remember?" Ryo asked, "Since you injured me fairly bad, I think you should make up for it by hanging out with me for a couple hours! Besides, what else do you have to do?"

"I have feet. I can walk home just fine."

"Aww, come on. One movie and I'll send you back home!" Ryo tugged at my arm. I tried to whip it away from his grasp, but he was only held on even tighter. He dragged me into the entrance and bought tickets.

"Let's just hurry up, then," I groaned as I headed towards theatre six, where our film would be showing.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Ryo exclaimed in exaggerated agony.

"What?" I asked, getting impatient.

"SNAAAAAAAAAAAACKS!" He complained, pointing towards the concession stands. I snapped, and punched him on the head (though, not as hard as before).

"TALK NORMALLY, IDIOT!" I cried, my eyes glaring down at him fiercely. Ryo whimpered as he ran towards the concession stand.

--

"Popcorn?"

"No thanks."

"Soda?"

"No thanks."

"Jellybeans?"

"No thanks."

"Aren't you hungry? I can't eat this all myself..."

"I'm perfectly fi-" my stomache growled in protest. Ryo smirked and tilted the popcorn bucket towards my direction. Grudgingly, I took a handful and tossed it in my mouth - chewing bitterly.

"Speaking normally now?" I asked, hinting more punishments could (and would) be performed if necessary.

Ryo laughed nervously as he rubbed the spot where I'd smacked him. "Yep…"

The title of the moving blazed across the screen in pink, bubbly letters. I turned to Ryo and with a confused look I asked, "You're into chick flicks?"

"..."

"Well?"

"...I watch them for the...humor..."

For the first time today, I genuinely laughed, "You...you..." I found it hard to form words, "You watch CHICK FLICKS!" Some of the neighbors around us had turned around - looking sourly in our direction.

"You have a really nice smile...if only you would more often..." Ryo trailed off as the laughter from my face dropped - replaced by an angry glare. I kept my face straight for the rest of the movie, but I couldn't help but feel a little elated from his compliment.

* * *

Yes, and the plot moves FORWARD.  
I'm going on a Ryuki fanfic rampage right now, so if anyone knows some good ones - please link them to me : )

If you're into fluffiness, I wrote up a one-shot Ryuki fluff called "Valentine Cookies," you can find it on my profile!  
_**Until then, I'm beggi- hoping that you guys will leave a review...please?**_


	3. The Race and Detention

I am actually surprised at how long this chapter came out o.o I was expecting it to be short because I was running out of ideas (or came up with ideas I decided to use for later chapters,) but here it is! Tadaa!

I'm sorry for getting this out sooo late! Whenever I uploaded this to half of the story was lost, and I'd already deleted it off notepad, I had to rewrite the whole thing again. And then, I kept loosing random parts of my story and I had to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite like crazy...BUT IT'S OUT NOW!

**Updates (6/18/08)** – I'm starting to go back through and edit my chapters a bit (mostly for grammar and spelling.) Sometimes when I upload new chapters, the formatting gets totally gets messed up (ex: the whole chapter decides to bold itself). I'll try to keep that in mind and monitor that if it happens.

**Chapter Three - Day Two: The race and the detention.**

The wind blew into my hair - I felt odd, unlike myself. My red hair, usually in a spiky ponytail, was pulled down today. My mother styled it so it fell around my face, cutting off just below my chin, in soft waves.

The fabrics of the skirt I was wearing ripped around my knees as the wind blew a little harder. The skirt itself was a light shade of pink - decorated with multiple butterflies and other cutesy creatures. Along with this, I was wearing a tank top with spaghetti straps - white and plain.

My hands were behind my back as I leaned against a tall oak tree, waiting. But, I had no idea what I was waiting for...I just knew it was somebody. Somebody was going to come for me. The sun rose into the sky, and light filled the once shadowy areas of the garden I stood at.

As the sun topped over the hills, a figure's shadow came - jogging hurriedly. As the sun rose higher and higher I realized it was a boy. He came even closer and his features were seen more clearly.

"Good morning, wildcat!" Akiyama Ryo greeted me brightly. A sudden jolt lurched forward in my stomach and warmth filled into my chest. I smiled back and threw my arms around him. His arms fastened around my waist and we rocked back and forth for a moment in one another's hold.

He pulled away a bit, and leaned down. His face coming nearer...and nearer...and nearer...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And I woke up from my nightmare.

--

Of all the dreams I've had in my life, that has the record of being the _worst_ and _most wrong_...ever. Even the one where Kazu and Kenta beat me at Digimon, won the lottery, and got girlfriends who were models. I'd awoken in the middle of the night from my dream - and the disturbing vision kept me up for the rest of the night. I couldn't fall back asleep...how would I be able to?!

The scene repeated in my head over and over again - torturing me. Me, in a frilly, grily outfit - waiting for Mr. Hero Boy to pick me up and...and -

I couldn't say it. It was too painful to bear.

The rest of the morning was a blur - I slightly remembered brushing my teeth and the taste of bland cereal in my mouth, but nothing else. I was literally being haunted by the nightmare. And everywhere I looked, Ryo's sappy expression appeared to me.

It wasn't until I reached school I had finally "woken up."

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Well, Mitsuki said that Ayashi said that Takashi said that Mirielle said that Shugo said that Hitomi said that Rina said that Karen said that Mina said that Shigeru said that Akane said that her mom saw Ryo and Ruki at the movie theatres together on a date!"

There was a collateral of gasps and squeals. "I can't believe it! I refuse to believe it! Ryo-sama is miiiiine!" One of the girls cried.

"Well, what's wrong with me going out with Ruki-chan? We're already getting married," This was when I jumped from my desk and found Ryo facing his fangirls with the same expression he had in my dre- nightmare. "You're all welcome to come to the wedding next week, of course!"

"RUKI!" I was glomped by Juri - she gripped me by the shoulders and began shaking me, "YOU'RE MARRYING RYO?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME! I HAD NO IDEA...WELL, I COULD KIND OF TELL, BUT WELL...YEAH..." Juri squeaked in excitement - her eyes flashing with happiness. "I thought I'd never see the day Ruki Makino fell in love!"

At the word love, I exploded. All around, voices were raised - excited, disappointed, shocked, and other tones discussed this new (false) update at rapid speed. I marched my way up to the room and slammed my fist at the teacher's podium.

"It's a lie!" I hissed at them, glaring down at the crowd. "And anyone who continues the subject of it insert glare at Juri here will face consequences." The room became silent and everyone looked scared - except Ryo, smirked up at me. He hopped up and stood next to me.

"I knew you'd say something like that, but it's all true guys!" Ryo said enthusiastically, he pulled me into a hug.

"Awwwww," the room replied. I pushed him away and tried again.

"I am NOT getting married to _him_!" I yelled, pointing a finger in Ryo's direction. But belief had been lost again, and gossiping voices filled the room once more. I balled up my fist and punched him on the shoulder. "IDIOT!"

I stomped back to my desk and flopped down. I was tired from the lack of sleep these past two days AND of avoiding Ryo. It was _my_ job to give _him_ hell for ten days - not the other way around.

During the lesson, I could feel everyone's eyes on me - glancing back and forth from Ryo and I. I heard them discussing rumors about our nonexistent relationship and a fresh anger burned inside my chest - but I couldn't attack him again in the middle of a lively classroom.

That's when I remembered I had detention from smacking Ryo's nose yesterday.

He would be _twice _as dead once I was out.

--

Somebody had taken the time to tape up pictures of Ryo and I photoshopped together so it looked like we were holding hands. They had also been brushed over with flowers, butterflies, and hearts, topped with the words "RYUKI is LOVE" in puffy, pink lettering. A small girl from Ryo's fan club, and a senior that started the Ruki fan club had come to me before lunch about the matter.

"We would just like you to know that the Ryo and Ruki fan clubs are behind your love decision one-hundred percent!" The little girl squealed, as she nodded viciously.

"Yes! In honor of you guys' relationship we decided to join our clubs together and name it the "Ryuki fan club!" Isn't it great?!" The senior boy added, clenching his hand in a determined fist. Before I could argue with them, they bustled away - grinning hapilly and humming "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from Lion King.

Thankfully, there was a lack of Ryo during lunch. I didn't really feel hungry so I just caught up on the sleep I'd been missing for the last two days. However, I didn't get my wish.

"You know, we're very disappointed you didn't tell us about the wedding," a voice said from behind me.

"Oh, shut up, Jenrya," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Same old Ruki," He laughed as he sat down.

"Well, don't worry. I haven't been keeping it a secret since it wasn't true in the first place," I reassured him. Then I went on explaining what happened – leaving the bet out – in full detail.

"Aww. I was kind of hoping it was true. You and Ryo would be a cute coup – " Jenrya began, but eyeing my angry expression, he stopped. "You know Juri is going to be upset if she knows it isn't real. I bet she's out right now searching for a dress catalogue," Jenrya joked.

"Very funny," I replied dryly, but couldn't hold back a small smile.

"Are you still researching the Digital World?" I asked.

"Yep. Hopefully we can find something interesting," Jenrya answered. "Lately we've been testing out this new theory that we came up with…" he continued on explaining his findings. I listened on eagerly.

At the bell, I headed off to class. (After escaping Juri who decided to chase me at the end of lunch, waving something that suspiciously looked like a fashion catalogue…)

I was shocked that I didn't see Ryo for the rest of the day. Maybe he was playing it smart after the incident in homeroom. At the end of History as I was heading for the gym (my last class) I overheard some girls talking in low giggly whispers.

"I heard that Ryo-chan got sent to the Principal's office during Biology," one of them said.

Ryo-_chan_?

"Oh, yeah, he volunteered to help clean up after the lab we were doing today...and I didn't see him anymore afterwards. What happened?" the second asked.

I thought back - I was Ryo's lab partner earlier. Today's experiment had been very confusing - involving lots of toxic chemicals and fire. Could it be that...?

"Well, he knocked over that blue liquid-y stuff, that the Professor said could burn through wood, into the fire. It had a different reaction to fire than it does to wood and it made the fire grow bigger, two tables turned into ash before they put out the fire," a third girl said.

"Well, it was an accident, wasn't it? Why'd he get in so much trouble?" the second girl questioned.

"That's the thing. Before he knocked over the liquid he yelled "BANZAI!" which makes me think he did the thing on purpose, but..."

Why the hell did he set the classroom on fire on purpose?! For all I know, he could've caught on fire with the rest of the classroom or lost an arm and two legs and he'd be a one-armed man for the rest of his life thinking 'gee, I wish I hadn't set myself on fire,' and then -

And then…

Wait. Why am I caring?

--

The locker room is a girly mass of fiery doom. Girls giggled, jumped around, and squeaked as hey ran here and there. I sighed as I dressed quickly into my gym clothes and then made it to the gym as fast as I could. I sat by Juri and only half-listened as she was talking (after making sure she was catalogue, magazine, booklet, and what not clear)

_Ryo… YOU IDIOT. STOP MAKING ME THINK ABOUT YOU._

I surveyed the gym - good, he wasn't here either. So, basically, I had avoided him almost the whole day. What a perfect day. I smiled to myself.

"Thinking about me?" A low whisper echoed in my ear. I jumped up, flinging my arm in the direction the whisper came from. Ryo flew a distance away, moaning.

"If you ever get that close to me again you will face worse pains that the bloody nose I already gave you," I warned.

Ryo only grinned at me, "I forgive you."

"I didn't ask for-"

"AWWW, THEY LOOK SO CUTE!" A bunch of "Ryuki" fangirls swooned from beside us.

I disregarded them and continued, "I didn't ask for forgiveness. I asked you to leave me alone."

"But I know very well that you like my company."

"AWWW, THEY LOOK SO CUTE!"

"Perhaps in your dreams, yes."

"I do dream about you."

Suddenly, a flash of my dream from this morning came to mind, felt my face growing hot as an odd sensation bubble inside me...

"AWWW, THEY LOOK SO CUTE!"

...and disappeared.

I found it pointless to keep arguing, and made my way back to Juri - huffing heavily. I could feel Ryo's eyes for me, and I could hear his footsteps trailing along to be at my side again. At that precise moment our coach came in with a hand timer hanging around her neck.

"Alright! Today is the "Pacer" test. The test is simple itself - you just keep running around the school track until you get tired. Try to do as many laps as you can. The time limit is when the class ends. Now, if you want to pass my class you have to at least do ten laps, but if you can't - I'll grade you on your effort."

--

The track wasn't too long, maybe a little less than half a mile. When I could, I always jogged around the neighborhood so this wasn't a big deal to me. I lined up with the rest of the kids at the start of the track, waiting until the coach told us to start. Somebody in the back was pushing around, and I'd been forced to the top of the crowd - next to Ryo.

"I was wondering where you wandered off to! I'd be worried if you got lost!" Ryo said.

Before I could retort, the coach let off a gunshot and everyone took off running. I had easily kept my pace and was at the front of the crowd, I looked back and saw Juri in the midst of the crowd - skipping. I laughed to myself as I continued forward. Running was easy for me. It was also easy for a certain Akiyama Ryo - who kept his pace equal to mine as if he was putting in no effort.

"You're well trained," he complimented as we made our third time around the track.

"So are you," I admitted against my will.

"Thanks, it means a lot," he said in a half-serious, half-cheerful tone.

The sun felt hot, and the heat seemed to pierce through my skin - boiling my blood. I wiped off the sweat dripping off my forehead and kept going. My head felt airy and my vision started to become blurry. I blinked a few times as we rounded our fifteenth lap around.

"We can stop, you know."

"_You _can stop, I want to keep going," I replied stubbornly. Maybe I was pushing myself a bit, but now that he _told_ me to stop I didn't want to. I stumbled a bit, but regained my balance. An odd pain ached in my stomach, but I ignored it - pressing forward. I rubbed my eyes as my vision blurred again and squinted against the sunlight.

"Ruki, are you alright?" Ryo placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I grunted, shaking his hand off. "Don't touch me."

My knees gave way and I could feel myself loosing stabilization - Ryo caught me, his arms wrapped around me. A different, embarrassed sort of like heat filled my cheeks as I jumped back up - pushed his arms away, and continued to jog.

The number of laps we'd run already I'd lost track of. Everyone else in our class had given up or finished - flopped onto the grassy field next to the track panting heavily, or telling the coach how many laps they'd run. I persisted on.

"Ruki," Ryo said gently, sounding a little tired himself "I really think we should stop." I panted, nodding, and turned around to head back towards class.

I remembered hitting the sand onto the track, and then, nothing.

--

I opened my eyes gradually. I remembered falling...and it clicked into place. I'd fainted on the school track. I glanced around and my surroundings confirmed it. I was now in the nurse's office - my clothes were stacked up on a table next to the bed I was laying on along with my backpack (most likely Juri's doing...)

I slowly regained my consciousness again, and I pushed myself upwards so I was sitting in bed. That's when I noticed something warm against my hand. I looked to the opposite side of the tableside to see Ryo, sleeping in a chair - holding my hand. I attempted to yank it away, but he held firm...even in his rest. Typical.

The nurse walked in, "Oh, good to see you're up, Makino. You fainted from exhaustion earlier - Akiyama-san ran in here carrying you very panicked and worried, you know?" she chuckled, "I told him you just had lack of sleep and food, and you'd hit your limit." Her eyes twinkled for a moment as she continued, "Wake him up soon, alright? The two of you still have that detention to go to!" She laughed again and added, "You're very lucky to have such a caring boyfriend, Makino!" And she swept away again.

A mixture of revulsion and gratefulness swept through me as I looked at Ryo. I punched him on the head lightly, but hard enough to make him stir. As he rose from his seat I slipped my hand away from his grasp and collected my clothes from the table.

"Get up you, we have to go to deten-" I stopped in mid-phrase. Something wasn't right. "...When did you get a detention?"

Ryo yawned and rubbed his eyes, "What'd you say?"

I thought back to the conversation the gossiping girls had earlier today.

_"'Well, he knocked over that blue liquid-y stuff, that the Professor said could burn through wood, into the fire. Well, it had a different reaction to fire than it does to wood and it made the fire grow bigger, two tables turned into ash before they put out the fire...Before he knocked over the liquid he yelled 'BANZAI!'...'"_

...that idiot.

I reworded my question, "_Why_ did you get a detention?"

He blinked a few times and grinned, "The answer is obvious. Get dressed, I'll wait for you outside." He walked out of the small cubical and withdrew some white curtains to give me some privacy.

--

We hurried into the detention room - showing our excused late passes to the teacher in charge, than sat down at the gratified desks near the back of the room, The room was filled with people I never even know attended our school - all dressed in dark colors and skulls. One guy eyeballed me and I glared back - he frowned and looked away grumpily as if he'd lost a game.

The minutes stretched on, I stifled a yawn and leaned my head against the wall. Ryo did the same, his face towards me - smiling. I turned around, stuck my tongue out at him, and looked the other way.

Why did I do that?

I shrugged to myself and watched the clock. An hour left.

--

Screams were heard in the hallway, my eyes flicked towards the direction of the hall - somebody rampaged through and the door burst open.

"Sir! There's an emergency! Come quick!" The teacher on duty stood up and ran out the door.

"Nice!" Some of the detention kids cried, and everyone but Ryo and I ran out the room - the door slammed shut and I faced Ryo.

"Shall we ditch as well?"

"We shall."

I reached the door and tugged at the doorknob.

It didn't move.

...this wasn't real. I tried the doorknob again - shaking it violently. It remained still. "...i-it's locked!"

--

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:  
Distant AutumnMountain, ficmaster, Shotgirl, Mimitto, SilverMoon13, gorlac, TrialAndError123456, instantnoodlelover and...**

**anon** - Thanks for pointing out that mistake! I am ashamed to call myself a Digimon fan ;o;

Alrighty, so anon said:  
_Thank you for updating! You said Ryo had brown eyes once in this chapter and he has blue eyes and I'm not sure but isn't auborn a shade of red? You said he has auborn hair and it is light brown._

Prior to the first chapter, I wiki-ed a picture of Ryo, the picture was small but I assumed he had brown eyes. Later on, while I was reading some Ryuki fics - all of them had said he had blue eyes. So, I didn't realize I had changed his eye color in the middle of the chapter. Apologies for that! And, auburn is a medium-shade of brown (which I think suits him...opinions?)

_**And, please remember to review! I really appreciate comments!**_


	4. The Mob

Wow. I'm on a writing rampage o.o I can't believe I've actually written four chapters for a story in a week. -proud of self- From now on, updates may come a little later then planned since school has started T.T

Alrighty, let's gooo!

**Updates (6/18/08)** – I'm starting to go back through and edit my chapters a bit (mostly for grammar and spelling.) Sometimes when I upload new chapters, the formatting gets totally gets messed up (ex: the whole chapter decides to bold itself). I'll try to keep that in mind and monitor that if it happens.

**CHAPTER FOUR: Day Three and the Mob**

_  
I reached the door and tugged at the doorknob._

_It didn't move._

_...this wasn't real. I tried the doorknob again - shaking it violently. It remained still. "...i-it's locked!"_

I was confused at Ryo's expression; it was almost blank, but his eyes were wide, and they grew wider as stared at me. "...what was that you said?" He spoke slowly, dazed.

I jiggled the doorknob again in hopes that it really, truly, was my mistake - but it didn't move. "The door is locked," I said. "The door is locked..." I repeated, as if trying to convince myself that it, well..._WAS_.

Slowly, a broad grin formed on Ryo's face, he raced to the back of the classroom where a couple of large cabinets were - and sealed himself inside, closing the door behind him. I could hear him whooping and hollering inside with excitement.

_Idiot._

I stormed over to the cabinet and gave it a kick, "What the hell's so funny, Akiyama?" I snapped, "We're stuck here until maybe, tomorrow morning! I doubt anyone is going to come by and let us out before then...and my mom and grandma! They'll be freaked out!"

"Ummm, Ruki?" said a muffled Ryo's voice from the cabinet, "I can't get out of here."

"Haha, well good. You deserve to be stuck in there," I smirked. "This isn't so bad after all!"

Ryo began pounding on the doors, "T-this isn't funny. Let me out...right n-now! RUKI!"

"Hmm, I don't hear anything..."

"RUKI! LET ME O-OUT, I-I'M SERIOUS, HERE!"

"Why? You seemed perfectly happy to jump in there in the first place..."

There was a short pause and then he answered, "...I'm afraid of the dark." I laughed silently to myself as he continued to pound on the door - calling my name over and over.

It was now five-thirty; I looked out the window to see how high the sun was in the sky...wait..._the window_! I rushed over to the window and yanked at the latches - it stayed put. Damn. Maybe I could throw a desk at it and break it open...most likely that would land me in detention for another day though...Perhaps Ryo had a solution...My eyes darted over to the back cabinet - it had become oddly silent...Ryo's poundings and yelling had ceased.

I headed back towards the cabinet and gave the door a light knock, "Akiyama?"

No reply.

"...Hero boy?"

Nothing.

"Pretty boy?"

Silence.

"...Ryo? Are you there?" Again, there was no response. "Ryo? ANSWER ME DAMNIT! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" My eyes widened in fear...what if he was hurt in there? He was afraid of the dark...crap, it would be my fault if he scared himself to death! "Ryo! I'm opening the door!" I yanked the handle of the cabinet door - panicking. I wanted to see his face...

A hand flew from the opened cabinet and poked me on the forehead...attached to the arm that belonged to an Akiyama Ryo who looked perfectly fine. "About time you let me out, wildcat," he smiled that crooked smile like he did before - one corner of his lip tilted upwards.

An odd mixture of feelings erupted from me - and anger, the most prominent, ripped out. I punched him hard in the stomach and stomped off back to my backpack where I retrieved my homework. Ryo limped over, wearing a half-grimace, half-smile on his face and sat next to me.

"I'm sorry, I deserved that punch."

"You betcha," I grumbled, penciling in a couple answers on my Algebra worksheet.

"Hey, that one's wrong," Ryo said, poking his finger at problem two.

"No, it isn't," I said icily.

"Yeah, it is...look -" he grabbed the pencil and paper out of my hand and began writing on his own desk. "Okay, it says x is 24 and y is 32, and then it wants us to solve 9x (x - 24) 5y so then you..." he continued mumbling under his breath as he scribbled down more notes. "...aaand THAT'S your answer." he concluded, handing me back my stuff. I glared at him and clawed at the worksheet with my pencil - the led snapped multiple times as I completed the rest of my homework.

"Ruki," Ryo said, "tell me why you're angry."

"Because I-" I stopped, it was then I realized - I really didn't know why I was angry with him. He played jokes on me before, teased me, but this was a different kind of anger. A feeling in the back of my head felt like a touch of worry and fear. Was it because I was scared I lost him...?

I laughed. As if.

"Because if you died in there, your mom would sue me," I finally came up with. I had to admit even to myself that that sounded like a lame excuse.

"Sure," Ryo said, he gave me a knowing look.

I regretted racing through my homework so quickly, because now I had nothing to do. Earlier, we'd heard the Janitor come by - we pounded on the door to try to get his attention, but he was growing old and didn't hear us. He passed by humming a love song despite our attempts to get out.

"Oh, crap! Mom!" I hissed, as I fished out my cell phone from my pocket.

"...oh yeah!" Ryo said, withdrawing his as well. Impatiently, I waited as it turned on - the screen blinking white then slowly loading the desktop. And then...

"No signal?!" we both exclaimed. I groaned as I shoved my cell back into my pocket. Ryo ventured around the room, seeing if he could get a signal from a different area - but he returned looking disappointed, his mission failed.

"Hey! Why don't we break the window!?" Ryo exclaimed, pounding his fist onto his hand in realization. "Oh, wait. That might land us another detention…"

"Mom's going to call the police," I muttered, resting my head against the wall.

"I think my mom might call the coast guard."

I laughed, "Isn't the image of the entire coast guard coming to our school to unlock us from this room amusing?" Ryo laughed along with us, and our laughter bounced around the walls - echoing. Then I remembered who I was with and stopped in mid-laughter, regaining my angry face. Ryo took notice and stopped too, clearing his throat.

It seemed like forever ago I was on the school track jogging out in the hot sun and now, I was locked inside a filthy detention room...with Ryo. The minutes ticked by, and we sat in an odd silence.

The silence was broken by a growling sound. I looked over at Ryo, with a curious look. He smiled sheepishly and said, "I missed lunch because the principal was mad at me for the...well, you know. But I have it covered!" He dug through his backpack and pulled out three sandwiches, two bottles of gatorade, a bag of chips, a package of onion rings, and an apple. "Kazu and Kenta snuck this out for me," he explained to my confused expression.

"I see..."

"Here," he said, tossing me a sandwich, "consider this our lovely dinner for the evening."

I unwrapped the sandwich from the wrapper and took a bite. I realized I, too, had not eaten lunch and I was surprisingly ravenous. I paused for a moment, wanting to say something. I chewed slowly and swallowed.

"Err-"

"Yeah?"

"Akiyama, I..."

"Ryo."

"What?"

"Call me Ryo. You did earlier."

"That...wasn't intentional!" I argued, but even to me, my voice sounded weak. When he didn't say anything I pressed on, "Well...thanksforthefood." I took another big bite and looked away from him.

"Your welcome, wildcat," Ryo smiled at me, and I rolled my eyes. "I know this is a kind of...personal...question to ask, but I really want to know."

"What is it?"

"What happened to your dad?"

I pursed my lips, before saying, "He died."

"Oh, really? Was he cool?" Ryo opened the bag of chips and popped one into his mouth.

"I don't really remember him too much, he seemed to be a good guy though. The kind of father who spends the time to push his daughter on the swing..." I held reminiscence for a moment, finishing up my sandwich and reaching for the onion rings. "There were times when I was young...I recall my parents arguing a lot...I can remember the sound of glass crashing against the floor...and crying..." I paused, the memory was painful, but I somewhat felt relieved being able to let it out. "And then, my dad just went out the door and left us. My mom was worried the whole day...and when we finally heard from him..." I stopped.

"You found out he was dead," Ryo finished roughly.

"Yeah," I whispered as I nodded slightly. "It was a car accident...and a drunk driver...well, you know..."

"I'm sorry, I should've never asked."

"Nahh, it's okay - I actually feel a bit better talking about it. What about your dad?"

"My dad? You don't wanna hear about him," Ryo said. I stared at him with narrow eyes, he sighed and continued. "He was...a...gigolo...so to speak. A new girl every night...came home drunk for no apparent reason…when my mom found out she threw a fit and cried really hard. In the middle of the night, we packed up our things and ran away from home. Never heard from him again."

"I think I've concluded something," I said after a moment of silence.

"And that is?"

"We have crappy childhoods."

"I'll say," Ryo laughed - he collected our trash and dumped it into a bin at the front of the room. I glanced at the clock. Eight-twenty. I could see my mom now in mind's eye, calling up every phone number in her book - and a bit of guilt rushed over me.

"This is a nice chair," Ryo said - sitting up at the teacher's desk. He rummaged through the shelves on the desk, trying to look cool. "Hey, wildcat. Spin me!" He called as he turned circles in the chair.

"...why?"

"I've never felt the fun of being spun in a spinny chair," he said, pulling out a pout.

"Well, I'm very sorry that you were so deprived..."

"One spin won't hurt!"

I rolled my eyes for what seemed to be the billionth time today, walked over to the chair reluctantly, and gave it a push.

"Whee!" he cried, waving his arms in the air. The cycle around was short, but he was overjoyed to be spun, and demanded, "again!"

"Oh, please. How old are you?"

"Older than you, but that doesn't matter. Spin me!"

I gave it another push...and another...and another...and I felt myself laughing at his reactions. His excitement increasing as he twirled in circles. Finally, he put a foot down in mid-cycle. He leaned his weight into the wall as he walked forward - his steps wiggly.

"Hmm...think I was on...too long..." he said to himself, as he tried to make it back to his seat. I followed behind, eyeing him carefully.

"Are you alri-" I was cut off as he suddenly tumbled to the floor - I ran forwards and caught him. "You're an idiot..." I mumbled as I dragged him towards the wall. There was a funny rumpled smile across his face as I set him down - his head leaning against the wall. "Honestly..." He was knocked out, sleeping. His face had dropped the goofy smile and looked content. I got up to sit down in a desk, but his hand yanked at mine and pulled me down again. "What the he-" He laid his head on my shoulder and continued his sleep.

...well...

I guess it was okay.

For now.

--

Somebody was squealing.

Somebody was interrupting my sleep.

Somebody was my mother this morning, when she found her daughter sleeping next to her future dead fiancé with her head leaned against his.

And, of course, the aftermath of Ruki-is-trapped-in-a-room-with-Akiyama-for-one-night gets much, much, _much_ worse.

Another somebody learned how to hack into the school system, specifically the security cameras to be exact. That somebody also knew how to print out large poster-sized pictures of Ryo and I in our sleep. The same somebody (and his or her group of somebodies) had decorated this pictures with the words "Ryuki love!" and hung them all over the school.

ALL over.

"Y'know," said the janitor as he passed by, eyeing the posters. "There was a spare key of the classroom inside the teacher's desk."

I stared at him in shock when I remembered...

_"This is a nice chair," Ryo said - sitting up at the teacher's desk. He rummaged through the shelves on the desk, trying to look cool.  
_  
"...are you mad?" a small voice asked behind me.

"I suggest you run. Now."

--

After the principal finally got to the school, my mom, Ryo's mom, and a couple other school staff members had unlocked the room where detention was held the previous day, our mothers rejoiced, we changed, and we had to go to school.

Again.

I tried to convince my mom to let me skip, but she said I needed to spend time with Ryo. Pft. As if. Any time I spent with him today would be painful. For him.

The day seemed to stretch on longer - crowds of people were following me everywhere, asking me my account on what it was like to be locked in a room with my lover for a whole night, what my true feelings were for Ryo and...other stuff I wish not to repeat. It was a very irritating day, and I was glad I was finally getting home after all this chaos.

I decided against riding the bus home as I usually did, no doubt I would be ambushed there too. I'd wanted to borrow a school bike, but they weren't any left. No matter, of course. The walk to home was a mere fifteen minutes - and it'd be good exercise. I headed off quickly, while people were still piling into busses, cars, or whatever kinds of transportation they were taking towards home.

I reached into my backpack for my CD player and looped the headphones into my ear. I pressed the play button and hummed along to the music as I walked on.

"Well, well, isn't it little miss cocky. Just because she's Ryo-sama's fiancé she's getting all worked up..." I heard a voice from behind. I turned around slowly and recognized a couple of girls from Ryo's fan club who had screamed when I punched him in the hallway.

"What?"

"You don't deserve it!" A second girl yelled, pointing an accusatory finger towards me. I cocked one eyebrow, and continued walking - but one of them grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around. I could feel the sleeve of my shirt rip as I faced them. I was already irritated by the treatment I'd received today, and now I was just pissed off.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked, "And make it quick."

"We just want to help Ryo-sama out!"

"...by?"

"Getting rid of his useless fiancé," the first answered. They seemed to multiply now, a large group of six, but they didn't look so tough. I dropped my stuff on the sidewalk and readied myself.

"If you want to bad talk, continue, but if you really want to fight - prepare to get your butt kicked," I warned. The first one lunged at me, my leg was about an inch away from whacking her half-way across the country, when somebody else had flew into the fight - breaking us up. The person had pushed the girl to the sidewalk onto her knees - her friends crowded around her crying shrilly and caught my leg in mid-kick.

"Let go of me, Akiyama," I said. When he didn't respond, I whipped my foot away from his grasp and kicked him in the shin. I collected my belongings and continued storming down the sidewalk.

"Why are you mad, _now_?" he groaned, as he trailed behind me, hopping on one leg.

"How did you find me?" I spat; he seemed surprised by my question, but quickly recovered and responded with his usual grin.

"Well, I was following you after school and I noticed you didn't get on the busses, so I continued following you and well, obviously somebody had to do something-"

"I didn't need help."

"Well, yeah, but you would get in trouble if the school found out you'd murdered six girls," he smirked. I glared at him.

"I wouldn't've killed them. I would only need to knock out their leader and they would probably run away crying."

"...good point."

There was silence, and I felt a slight surge of gratitude for Ryo's care - but it disappeared quickly.

"So, are you still mad?"

I didn't answer.

"You don't have to walk me home."

"I feel it's my duty as your fiancé."

I cringed. I looked up the street and saw my house coming into view. I jogged up the last remaining steps towards the house to make my departure with him faster, but I stopped as I saw the front lawn. There was a large wooden sign nailed in the front with bright red letters.

"Hey...Ruki? What's wrong?"

"My house is...for sale!?"

--

**Thanks to -**  
**joy, TrialAndError123456, instantnoodlelover, Mimitto, anon, Shotgirl, Rie, katy007**


	5. The Doomed Household

I know... I meant to update much, much, much sooner - but things have been so crazy for me (with school and everything...) And I had major writer's block trying to type up this chapter. Hopefully updates will go much more quickly now? Heh...

Thanks to **Hoshi-Naito, shorty, phoenixblaze07, Digimon Tamer Ruki, DigimonTamersFan, Ruki, Akira, Makino Ruki, ryukitjha, Fiery-chan, Z, Mimitto, Shotgirl, anon, katy007, rebeckham13, TrialandError123456, Sangloupmon** for your beautiful reviews! They really keep me going. I appreciate them very much.

It's been mentioned that my spelling and grammar are iffy, so I'll try to monitor that more closely from now on.

**CHAPTER FIVE:** The doomed household

* * *

_I looked up the street and saw my house coming into view. I jogged up the last remaining steps towards the house to make my departure with him faster, but I stopped as I saw the front lawn. There was a large wooden sign nailed in the front with bright red letters._

_"Hey...Ruki? What's wrong?"_

_"My house is...for sale!?"_

"What?" Ryo asked.

"My house is...for sale!" I said, this time exclaiming, rather than questioning as I pointed at the sign nailed in front of my house. "What? What's going on... I never heard anything about this..." I reached into my pocket for my phone and quickly dialed my mom's number for answers. I tapped my foot as I listening to it ring, waiting for her to pick up. It was just my luck that I was only able to reach her voice mail.

"Hello! This is Rumiko Makino! Please leave a message after the beep! Byee!"

"Mom," I hissed as soon as the beep went off, "have you ever heard of _responsibility_? I want to know what's up with this FOR SALE business!" I hung up, angry, then I looked around. I had no idea what to do next. I racked my brains for a possible solution. If her phone was off, most likely, she was busy at one of her modeling shoots. The thing is - I had no idea where.

"I remember my mom said something about Rumiko-san having a shoot at a cafe today" Ryo said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Do you know whic- Hey! Did you just call my mom by 'Rumiko'?!"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Don't get too cozy with my family just yet."

"It was YOUR mom who told me to call her that. Said she felt old if called otherwise..."

I stopped, thinking of how likely that story was. Very. "So, anyway, you were saying? Do you know which cafe the shoot is taking place? Did my mom tell you or something?" I interrogated him.

"Uhh, I think so," Ryo said with an odd tone in his voice.

"Well?" I asked expectantly.

He grinned mischievously at me for a moment. I blinked, trying to mentally prepare myself. I could tell he was planning something. Of course, you can't be prepared for anything when Akiyama Ryo is at the wheel. Quickly, he grabbed my hand. Gripping it tightly, he dashed down the street.

--

After I made sure Ryo's hand wouldn't have feeling in them for a very, very, _very _long time, we had reached our... destination? I eyeballed the cafe he had led me to suspiciously. It had a central color theme of pinkish red. I could tell it was one of those couples' cafe. Hearts danced across the outside walls. The cafe's name glittered and shined in front of the cafe. Even the help wanted sign in the corner of the shop window was dyed in pinks and reds.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

"U-uh... yeah. Doesn't it have that Rumiko-san-esque feeling?" Ryo answered.

"...I guess..." I answered.

"After you," Ryo smiled, as he opened the door for me.

"Welcome to the Rabu Rabu Cafe!" A girl in a bunny costume squeaked as we entered. Ahh, yes, definitely. This place definitely fit my mom. She would probably die to have a daughter who'd dress up in "cute" little outfits like that.

"Table for two, please," Ryo said smoothly. Bunny girl giggled as she hopped towards the first empty table and laid down some menus. I scanned the the shop, looking for my mom. I couldn't spot any cameras or production staff around, either. It seemed like a normal day in this cafe.

"I thought you said they had a shoot! Where is she?" I hissed at him.

"They're coming, they're coming! Just wait a bit," Ryo said in a somewhat reassuring voice as we sat down at our designated table.

"Anything in mind for the young couple?" Our chipper waiter asked.

"We're not a cou-"

"Just two hot chocolates," Ryo replied.

"Hot chocolate?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.

"What's wrong with hot chocolate?"

"It's so childish...and waaay too sugary sweet," I said. "We'll have two coffees instead."

"Eww! Coffee!?" Ryo asked, wrinkling his nose in return. "You know that stuff stunts your growth?"

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "One coffee, one hot chocolate."

"Coming right up!" The waitress came back quickly with our order since the cafe didn't have many guests to begin with. "Anything else? May I suggest some of our shop's cream puffs?"

"That sounds really good, actually! We'll have an order!" Ryo grinned up at the waiter. She bounced off to comply to his request. I just scowled. Of all places I end up in... As Ryo happily stirred his cup of hot chocolate, I made a face.

"It's not that bad!" Ryo argued, reading my silent complaint through my expression.

"It looks bad," I retorted, trying to keep my face straight. I had to admit, my taste buds were strangely attracted to the scent of chocolate rising from Ryo's cup.

"Well, what about that blackhole of a coffee you're drinking there? And I see that you haven't added any sugar or anything to it..."

"I drink it plain," I said, taking a sip. Silence fell between us.

"They say opposites attract," Ryo commented, gazing up at me with a flirty smile.

"They say I have a good right hook."

"...right-o..."

"Here you go!" the girl placed a basket full of cream puffs at our table. "They're a little hot, so be careful!" I reached for one and I was about to take a bite when I noticed the waiter was still there. I looked at her questioningly. She laughed nervously, "Hehehe... I actually made those myself and I'd like some feedback..."

"Oh, sure," I replied. I bit into it slowly. I could feel my eyes light up as I chewed. "This is really good!" I said in shock, finishing it up.

"If Ruki-chan says it's good, it really must be!" Ryo chimed, as he started to eat the one in his own hand. I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

"Thanks! This place used to be a bakery, actually. My father is the manager," the girl continued on, conversationally.

"What happened to it?" I asked, reaching for a second cream puff.

"We weren't getting that many sales. I suggested it we change it to a couple's cafe, and the business is slowly getting better. Most people just come here for the coffee and drinks... I really wish they'd order up more of our baked goods," the girl sighed.

"If I went around telling my friends about your cafe, would you treat us this meal free?" Ryo offered, grinning mischievously at her. An irk of anger pulsed through me, but I kept my face calm.

"Haha, nice try. How about we wait until those friends of yours come over? Then we might have a deal there. My name is Yamada Mika, by the way."

"I'm Akiyama Ryo!"

"My name's Makino Ruki," I introduced myself.

"Are you two dating?" Mika asked accusingly.

"Actually, we're getting marri-" Ryo started.

"NO! Just classmates..." I interrupted before he could say anymore. I shot him a couple death glares to keep quiet. Oh wait... marriage... fiance...mom! I glanced at my watch. It had been an hour since we'd arrived! I jumped out of my seat and pointed a finger in Ryo's direction. "You said she had a modeling shoot here! That she was coming soon!"

"...they...are..." Ryo said, the volume in his voice barely audible.

"Oh really? When?"

Ryo's eyes shifted as he attempted to escape my angry gaze. "In an hour or so..."

"Shoot? Model? What in the world are you talking about?" Mika asked. "Oh! Could it be that your Makino Rumiko's daughter? The supermodel?!" I ignored Mika's question as I continued yelling at Ryo.

"I see now, I see! You lied to me..." I grunted as I slung my book bag over my shoulder and stalked out of the cafe. As frustrated and angry as I was at Ryo, I felt more so towards myself. There were more important things to worry about right now, and I wasted that time...

"Ruki! Ruki, wait!"

I kept walking straight on. Too angry to notice where I was going, I suddenly crashed into somebody. I fell to the ground, grunting. I looked up to see who I had bumped into.

"Ruki! Honey! There you are!"

"Mom!?" I asked, too shocked to say anything else.

"Ryo told me to meet you guys at that cafe over there... He said he'd tell you everything about the move...and then I got that rude voice mail from you," my mom pouted at me, trying to look cute.

"What move?" I asked. Ryo had finally caught up to us, but as he heard my statement, I saw him backing up a bit.

"You didn't know? When I came to your school this morning to get you kids out of that locked room, you bolted out before I could say anything! I told Ryo about it though, and he said he'd promise to tell you..."

I turned my head at him, "And what else have you been lying about," I asked icilly. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes still not meeting mine.

"We'll be moving in and living with the Akiyama family! Isn't that great? Now you can spend endless time together!" My mom chirped happily.

Endless... time... _together_?!

Ryo smiled at me sheepishly, "Welcome home, Ruki!"


	6. School Festival Part I

I meant for this chapter to come out sooner, but...well, it didn't! I'll try to promise the next chapter in a week? (Depending on how many reviews I get, bwahaha! Jk, jk.)

I started revising some of the older chapters. I added some little tidbits of Tamer interactions, if anyone is curious. These changes won't be anything that will totally CHANGE THE PLOT FOREVERZ, but I thought you'd like to know about it.

For some reason, whenever I upload stuff, the formatting gets all wonky. (Like, a whole chapter turns out bolded...) No matter how many times I proofread, there's always some sort of error! I don't know what it is... please, just excuse it.

Special thanks to - **Kaoru2585, Dream Ablaze** (I've been meaning to take a look at your fic DX... I'm sorry I haven't gotten a chance to do so yet), **laurfalove, Kira, erinsgirl, gaaralover4ever123, Glory Nizenea**, **anon** for leaving reviews. It makes me so happy reading them.  
And thanks for adding me / Ten Days to your favorites / alerts - **Dream Ablaze, gaaralover4ever123, Sayumii, Kaoru2585, Randomdemoncat, and Glory Nizenea**!

CHAPTER SIX: School Festival (Part I)

* * *

_"We'll be moving in and living with the Akiyama family! Isn't that great? Now you can spend endless time together!"_

_Endless... time... together?!_

_Ryo smiled at me sheepishly, "Welcome home!"_

I rolled over in bed. I found it very hard to sleep in this new house. I missed sleeping in a futon in the safety of my old home. Ryo's house was relatively modern and "western." The complete opposite of my traditional Japanese tatami mat house. I would've rather had it the other way around... having them move into our house instead. Or better yet, not having to deal with this at all! My mom replied it was for the best, saying she could use the money to pay for the wedding...

I closed my eyes and leaned back. Everything had happened in such a rush. My mom drove us back to the Akiyama house after the cafe incident. During the time we'd been away, she'd managed to move all of our belongings to the Akiyama's already. ("But, Ruki! If you were here to help with the moving, you would've opposed to it! And then nothing would've gotten done!" my mom explained, totally missing the point.) I had to come home early for the next couple days to get all of the unpacking done.

I turned my head to its side and stared at the alarm clock, just waiting for it to go off. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I stared at the red numbers blinking angrily for a moment before jabbing the off button. I sat in bed for a moment, listening to Ryo brushing his teeth in the bathroom. I sat there waiting for him to be done. I refused to see him this early in the morning.

...I guess all of these changes are driving my sanity further and further away.

--

"Morning, Ruki!" Juri greeted.

"Hey," I replied.

Juri but her lip worriedly, "You don't look to good, Ruki..."

"It's nothing. I didn't get much sleep, that's all." I eyed Ryo accusingly...surprisingly, he was sleeping at his desk.

"Again? That's no good, Ruki! You know, this week is the-" she was cut off by the bell ringing. "Talk to you later," she said quickly as she walked towards the front of the class. Juri and Takato were our class representatives, and they usually made announcements at the beginning of class.

"I'm pretty sure everyone's been aware about what's happening this week! It's time for the school's Spring Festival! We have only three days to prepare," Takato started off.

"Our class decided on doing a dinner theater. Or, rather, a snack theater. We'll be performing a romantic comedy while serving snacks to the audience. Class 3D is going to be performing in the play, and we'll be running a cafe to go along with it. They have mostly everything set, we just need to help decorate the stage," Juri continued.

"Alright! Spring Festival! We finally have some time to relax!" One of the boys cried out.

Something snapped. We all glanced up at the front of the class, feeling the temperature seemingly drop. Juri, who had been holding a pen in her hand, had broken it in half with the sheer force of her temper. An aura of ferocity was emitting from her.

"Time. to. relax?" she asked in a falsely sweet tone, "THIS IS A TIME OF WAR BETWEEN THE OTHER CLASSES!"

"Nice going, you made Katou crack!"

"IF WE DON'T REAP THE MOST AMOUNT OF SALES COMPARED TO THE OTHER CLASSES, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?" Juri barked at us.

"Now, now, Juri... calm down a bit. The Spring Festival isn't about beating the other classes...It's a time to celebrate our youth and friendship and lo-" Takato said gently, trying to calm her down. She shot him death eyes. Takato backed down, laughing nervously.

"IF WE DON'T GET ENOUGH SALES, I WILL HAVE YOU GUYS CLEANING UP ALL THE TOILETS IN THE SCHOOL. DO I HAVE MYSELF CLEAR?" Juri asked, her eyes blazing.

The class gulped nervously.

"WELL? AM I CLEAR?"

"Y-YES, MAM!" the class cried as our homeroom teacher walked in.

"And that ends the announcements! Have a nice day everyone!" Juri smiled sweetly as she bounced off to her seat.

"I hope everyone decides to follow Miss Katou's lead!" our teacher gushed, and began the lesson.

--

"Alright, now I've divided everyone into different committee groups to be in charge of different activities. I also appointed a leader to each group to make sure everyone keeps on task!" Juri said after school that day. "I'll be calling out the groups now..."

I peeked at my watch. I had to get "home" to start on the unpacking. There were also some other things my mom said she wanted to discuss...

"...-yama and Makino will be in charge of snacks," Takato concluded. I looked up at the mention of my name for a brief moment. As I glanced back at my seat, a certain Akiyama kid had plopped himself in front of me.

"What are you doing?"

"Aren't you glad we're on the same committee?" Ryo asked. The class was in full action, getting ready for the festival.

"Why do I have a feeling that this wasn't a coincidence that the two of us ended up together - _alone_ like this?" I responded, glancing at Juri's direction. That would be **strike one** for today.

"Now, now! That doesn't matter," Ryo chimed. "Let's get on with this planning business. We're in charge of catering. I was wondering, actually. Couldn't you just ask your mom to request a catering service for us? Being a model, she has connections, right? I have some other things to work out at home," Ryo explained quickly.

"U-uh...alright..." I said, surprised at his sudden serious tone.

"Great! I'm counting on you! See you later," Ryo grinned, his eyes mischievous, then, he bent over a kissed the top of my head.

"Y-YOU!" I cried, heat rising in my cheeks. I frantically glanced around to make sure nobody had seen.

"Byee!" Ryo called, skipping out the door.

"Hey! Hold on a second!" I jumped out of my seat, with intentions of smacking that grin off his face. I chased after him, but, at the door, I was knocked over by a large crowd of people wailing my name. "DON'T GO MAKINO! WE NEED HELP!"

"W-what?"

"If you're already done, can't you help us paint these sets!" Kazu said.

"No! We need to repair these costumes first! You know how to sew, right?" Kenta moaned.

"What's the difference between this paintbrush and this one?" Takato asked (...while holding two identical brushes.)

"Hey, Ruki...do you know how to work the lights?" Jenrya questioned.

"Ruki, please. We need extra hands," Juri pleaded, tugging at my sleeve. "If not I'll tell everyone Ryo kissed you goodbye today," she continued, her voice dropped to a dark tone. Strike two.

"A-Alright." I replied, pulling away from Juri's grip.

Three strikes, I'm out?

--

It took me a while to find my way to the Akiyama house. I had accidentally headed back towards my house. It wasn't until I saw the "FOR SALE" sign staked in front of it did I realize that I no longer lived there. I unlocked the door and slumped in.

"Tadai-" I stopped in mid-phrase. "Ojamashimasu," I called as I closed the door behind me. No answer. I put away my shoes and trucked on in.

"What is the meaning of this?" I heard Ryo's voice booming angrily in the living room. It was the first time ever his voice had sounded so harsh. I stayed frozen in the entrance hall as I listened.

"Your father sent us a letter. He wants money," Ryo's mother replied.

"No father of mine would ask something like that from us. Mom, please, don't give him anything. That bastard doesn't deserve it."

"Well, he said he'll return it...It'll be okay, right?"

"Mom. Don't do it. I'm begging you. Can you really trust that guy anymore?"

"I'm not thinking of him in that way! I'm thinking of him as an acquaintance who needs my help!"

"YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT!" I gasped. Ryo never yelled like this...

"He's your father, Ryo!"

"What kind of father leaves behind his wife and child? Mom, you've gone through so much pain, already. I can't stand it!" I heard footsteps thumping up the stairs.

"R-ryo?"

"Yeah?" he answered thickly.

"In the letter. He also said that he wants to meet you," Ms. Akiyama's voice was quiet. I heard bitter laughter from Ryo before he continued his way upstairs. I stood there a few moments and waited for Ms. Akiyama to return to her room.

"Ryo," I whispered. Even though he'd told me about the situation with his father...I never knew that he was still this hurt from it. A sense of guilt pulsed through me. I felt _angry_. I felt almost angry _for _him. I made my way upstairs, threw my backpack into my room, and stood at Ryo's door.

Now what?

It wasn't like I could burst through and say, "Don't worry about your dad! He's a nutcase!" I would have to admit I was eavesdropping. Or, even if I did, wouldn't it be weird for me to comfort him? Rustling came from the other side of the door, and the doorknob turned. My heart began pounding like crazy. I quickly dashed back into my room, diving into the bed.

"Ruki? Are you there?" I hid my head under the covers, smashing my face into my pillow. Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away now. "I'm sorry about leaving so early." His footsteps echoed closer to my room. The door swung open. "Ah - oh. You're sleeping." He walked closer to my bed and sat down (much to my annoyance). I tried to stay still, my heart was still beating rapidly. Silently, he stroked my hair. I stiffened, feeling my heart race even more. What was this?! "I'm sorry, Ruki..." he murmured. He stayed at my side for a couple moments more before setting back to his room.

I laid in my bed for moments more, listening to my heartbeat race.

A couple hours later, Ms. Akiyama called us down to eat dinner. My mom was out late doing some work. Ryo didn't show up as we ate.

"Ruki? Could you check up on Ryo really quickly?" Ms. Akiyama asked.

"U-uh..." I stuttered, "I was thinking of washing the dishes."

"I'll handle it! You go on ahead." Ms. Akiyama replied in a slightly pushy tone.

"...okay..." I walked off in defeat. I stopped at Ryo's door and knocked lightly. "Ry- Uh. Hey. Your mom wants to know if you're going to eat dinner..." My voice sounded oddly warbled. When there was no answer, I knocked again. "You there?"

As I retreated, a small voice from the room called out a "no." I had half a mind to go in, but I couldn't.

"I see," I answered, and hid away in my room again.

--

The next morning, Ryo hadn't shown up for breakfast. This was odd. The house was awkwardly quiet. My mom was still away from work. Ms. Akiyama had headed off to her job at the local supermarket.

I wonder what he was up to? He had gotten up earlier than me yesterday, so I assumed he'd be the early riser type. The conversation he had with his mom kept repeated over and over in my head. Then how he isolated himself in his room afterwards...

"I-I'll just check up on him one more time," I reassured myself as I climbed the stairs. After all of what happened, this door of his room seemed to look so...lonely. I heard some shuffling inside, reassuring Ryo was up. Okay. He's still alive. Good.

As I turned back round, I heard the sound of glass shattering. I jerked back around a yanked opened the door.

"RYO?!"

I took one step into the room and found his body on the floor. His right hand was bleeding badly. Glass shards surrounded the injured hand.

"R-ryo?"

* * *

Most of you are probably familiar with the Japanese terms, but here's a short translation/explanation anyway!  
"Tadaima" and "Ojamashimasu" - these are two greetings you use when entering a house. "Tadaima" means I'm home/I'm back, used when you've come to your own house. "Ojamashimasu" is used if you're entering somebody else's house. Since Ruki isn't comfortable being at the Akiyama's, she used "Ojamashimasu." (Although, she wanted to say "taidama" !)

REVIEWS BUTTON AHEAD! I'd like at least 10 reviews before the next update? If that's possible? Thanks n.n


	7. School Festival Part II

Yeah. I totally fail at keeping promises u.u" Nevertheless, new chapter ahead! This chapter is for _In Darkness in Light_, for pointing out that mistake in the last chapter! Afterwards, I found a bunch of other mistakes while I was fixing it. -eyes shift- Hahaha. Thanks!

I'm back in school again tomorrow, so I squeezed in this update before I get swamped in school work x.X I don't know if I will be able to update as much when school start starts, but I'll try my hardest. I already have the rest of the story planned, so I guess it's up to my motivation to keep the updates going XD... Feel free to bug me through e-mail to update.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I deleted the little newspaper article tidbit from the last chapter.

Thank you so much for reviewing! **Always Have a Little Faith, Dream Ablaze, Kuro the Happy Emo, Kiri, hannah, kunnoichixxkanna, Pirika, Kare, lauralove, anon, Kaoru2585, In Darkness is Light** and thank you for adding to favorites/reviews - Always Have a Little Faith, CarliTMac, lauralove, PrincessSerenity2630.

**CHAPTER SEVEN: School Festival (Part II)**

--

_As I turned back round, I heard the sound of glass shattering. I jerked back around a yanked opened the door._

_"RYO?!"_

_I took one step into the room and found his body on the floor. His right hand was bleeding badly. Glass shards surrounded the injured hand._

_"R-ryo?"_

I bent down to his side, sweeping away the glass in a hurry. What? What the heck was going on? I felt oddly angry as I picked away the pieces that were still stabbed into his hand, cutting my hands slightly while doing it. I ignored the pain. It would be something to deal with after I got all of this cleaned up.

"Ru...ki...?" he murmured, as I picked away.

"What?" I asked, my voice unusually darker than usual.

"I'm sorry."

"Just shut up and pretend to be sleeping. I'll hoist you onto your bed," I said, tossing the last piece of glass aside. I barely had enough strength to pull him up. He half leaned on me with what willpower he had left as we wobbled to his bedside. I dumped him onto the covers where he curled up underneath, his head on his pillow.

Okay. First thing to do was to disinfect the wound. I dashed out the room and began ransacking the house for a first-aid kid. Luckilly, one was snuggled underneath the cupboard in the bathroom. I grabbed it and returned to his room once more, then set the box at his bed side table. I began to clean his hand up, dabbing at it with no mercy. He started shifting around uncomfortably, it probably stung. (Good. Serves him right.) After properly disinfecting it, I wrapped a bandage thickly around his hand and poked it a couple of times to make sure it was firm.

"I'm sorry," Ryo said again.

"Weren't you supposed to be pretending to sleep?"f

"It's hard when somebody's stabbing at you," he said, half laughing.

"Obviously, you weren't injured enough seeing that you are still awake," I snapped.

"I'm really sorry, Ruki, don't need to be so grouchy about it." Ryo yawned. He moaned weakly as he turned his head towards me. A grimmace stretched onto his lips. That's when I noticed his face was awfully red. He also seemed to be sweating. I pressed a hand onto his forehead.

"You've got a fever," I mumbled to myself. "Medicine..."

As I made another trip around the house, I sent a quick text message to Juri that I'd be absent from school. I'd probably need to watch after Ryo for the rest of the day. Both of our mothers had already left to work, afterall. I mentioned nothing about Ryo in my message as a precaution, but I'm pretty sure she'd assume something inappropriate anyway. I racked through the medicine cabinet to find something for a fever. Finding the right medicine, I trucked back upstairs to deliver it to Ryo.

"Hey. Don't fall asleep just yet," I said, tapping his forehead lightly. He blinked sleepilly at me as I shoved a pill down his throat with some water to go down with it. He swallowed slowly and smiled softly with gratitude before falling asleep for real.

I plopped back down in the chair to take a break. Everything that had just happened slowly began sinking in. The broken glass, Ryo falling ill, having to treat him...I brushed some of his bangs away from his face - which was knitted into a frown. A worried sigh escaped my lips. I waited a half hour for the medicine to take in effect before I checked his temperature. It was still pretty high, at a hundred degrees farenheit. He was still sweating pretty badly.

What to do? I've never had to take care of somebody else before. I spotted a computer at his desk and turned it on. I opened up internet and searched _how to reduce a fever._

_It is best to let a fever run its course, if you have a fever - it only means that your body is fighting off infection. Try sleeping it off. Keep the patient hydrated in order to help with cooling. The best fluid for this is water. You also want to make sure that the house temperature overall is cool. If the patient is sweating, it is best to mop it up with a warm, damp towel._

Okay, right. Ryo was already asleep, so...next would be to work the thermostat so the temperature would be suitable. As I made adjustments to the temperature, I also brought a jug of water and a glass for him to drink when he would awake.

After that would be wiping sweat from his body. I filled a small basin with lukewarm water I found in the bathroom and dipped a towel into it. I drenched out the excess water and sat next to Ryo.

I shifted aside his blanket. Wipe...his body... That would mean I'd have to take off his shirt. It suddenly felt really hot around me. I wonder if I'd caught a fever too. My fingers trembled as I unbuttoned his shirt. When it was fully unbuttoned, I pulled it open revealing a surprisingly well-toned chest. _You're enjoying this, aren't you?_ A small voice taunted in my head. Ignoring this, I reached for the towel and began wiping him down. My head swirled as my hands gently slid across his chest. What was this? My heart was thumping like crazy... I could've sworn the loudness would've woken him up by now. It's never been like this when I was with Ryo before. Why now?

After a few minutes I had mopped up everywhere I could. Perhaps I was enjoying this, a little. I put away the basin and towel and sat by him again to rebutton his shirt.

"Don't go..." Ryo mumbled. He thrashed around in bed. Maybe he was having a nightmare?

"Ryo?" I asked softly, touching his temple.

"Dad, don't go!" he cried out again. He grabbed my hand and yanked me into the bed with him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried and panicked. I could feel my heart rate increasing again. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer. I was finding it hard to breathe as he nuzzled up to me.

"Don't leave me..." he said, his voice sounding tearful.

This is the first time I'd ever seen Ryo so...lost. He was always so cheerful and happy-go-lucky. I would've never guessed he could make a face like this.

"I won't leave you," I whispered into his ear. He calmed down and fell back asleep, but he was still holding onto me pretty tightly. I surrendered into his grasp and fell into sleep along with him.

--

I awoke to my cell phone buzzing hours later. Groggilly, I rubbed my eyes. My head felt weird. As I opened up my eyes I noticed that I was half dangling off the bed. It seems somebody had half kicked me out in the middle of his nap. I tried to lift myself up, but in the process, I lost my balance and toppled to the floor head first. I rearranged myself in a proper standing position. Ryo was now sprawled across the bed in the crooked shape of a Japanese character "O."

"Oww," I grumbled to myself as I flipped open my phone. A new text message from Jenrya was blinking at me.

Hey!  
I heard from Juri you couldn't make it to school today. Does this have anything to do with Ryo concidentally not appearing too? (I'm kidding!) We were worried so we're planning on stopping by his house to see what's up. You wanna come along? Jenrya.

Huh? I glanced at the clock. It was a couple hours since school ended. I guess everyone was still working on the school festival preperations. I began cleaning up around the room where I had left things.

"Ah!" I cried as I stepped on something sharp on the floor. I glanced down to see the glass shards still on the ground. I'd forgotten to pick them up. I brought in a broom and began sweeping it up when I noticed the shards were circled around a piece of paper. I picked it up and examined it. The paper turned out to be a photo. A tall, lean adult version of Ryo (who I guessed was his dad) was standing next to Ms. Akiyama. A baby was in her arms, smiling widely. This picture must've been taken a while ago, before they had gotten a divorce. Which means, the glass was probably a picture frame of some sort.

The doorbell rang. It must've been the rest of the gang. I swept up the rest of the glass in a hurry and dumped it into the waste basket. Then I pocketed the photo into my jeans as I made a dash down the stairs.

"Hello?" I said as I answered the door.

"Uh...Ruki? What are you doing at Ryo's house?" Takato asked.

"What do you mean? I l-" I paused. I hadn't told anyone we were living together. I racked my brains for some sort of possible reason or excuse I could think of.

"Oh! Ruki hasn't told you guys?" Ryo's voice echoed from the stairs. He slowly clunked down, trying to look normal, but I could tell that he was still a little tired from his fever earlier.

I shot him a look and mouthed, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I forgot to tell you that I wanted Earl Tea with my afternoon snack! Oh, guys! Hey! Make yourselves home." Ryo continued babbling on as he led everyone into the living room.

"What?" I mouthed again.

"Afternoon snack?" Jenrya repeated.

"Yeah! Ruki's working as a maid at my house!" Ryo explained.

Silence swept the room.

"But I thought you guys were getting married?" Juri asked curiously.

"Of course, we still are. She felt bad that my side of the family was going to pay for all the wedding expenses when we do, so she insisted she helped around the house. Equivilant exchange, y'know?"

More silence.

"Well that makes sense! That's just like how it is in Fullmetal Alchemist." Kenta reasoned, nodding vigorously.

"Can you make the rest of us some snacks too?" Kazu asked, a hint of smugness was in his voice.

My mouth twitched into a smile. "S-sure. Right away." I grabbed Ryo by the collar and dragged him into the kitchen along with me.

"Maid? Whose?" I asked.

"It's a pretty good explaination if I do say so myself. Or do you want to let them know we're living together now, _pumpkin_?" He asked.

"Well, I..."

"Just play along for a couple days until it dies down." Ryo said. His deep voice took over me.

"Alright...I guess..." I mumbled. Feeling my face feel hot, I turned around so he wouldn't notice and pretended to be making tea. I could feel his eyes on me. I began drumming my fingers on the countertop to distract my thoughts, but I felt self-conscious.

"You need any help?" Ryo asked.

"No. I'm fine." I replied curtly.

"Kay, then." I turned my head to take a peek at his retreating figure as he made his way back towards the living room. Suddenly, Ryo lurched forward. His hands hit the wall in front of him. I heard the splatters hitting the kitchen floor.

"Ahhh, this is what happens when you're wandering out of bed when you're still sick!" I lectured, hurrying to the closet to find a broom and a mop.

More splattering.

"This is so uncool to do in front of the girl you like," Ryo said to himself.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Turn my way," I said. I pulled out my handkerchief and wiped his mouth.

His eyes were on me again.

"Hey...Ruki...I think I'm gonna..." he lurched forward again, but towards my direction. He collapsed onto me, his arms hooked around my waist and his chin digging into my shoulder.

"Again?" I murmured, as his grip loosened - his consciousness following after.

"Hey. Ruki, what's the hold up with the sna-..." Kazu paused, staring at Ryo and I in our seemingly intimate embrace.

--

"I'm sorry about making you guys help out even though your guests," I said for the umpteenth time, after Jenrya and Takato carried Ryo back into bed.

"Don't worry about it, Ruki. You were doing all of this yourself before, right?" Takato replied. "It's the least we could do."

"So, what were you and Ryo doing all alone during that time?" Jenrya asked suspiciously.

"He was sleeping."

Takato and Jenrya exchanged knowing glances.

"He had a fever. Stop assuming perverted things."

"It's our fault, isn't it? That he got worse. He was trying to welcome us as guests and strained himself to even though he was ill," Juri bit her lip worriedly.

"It looked like fun for YOU earlier, though," Kazu said, grinning at me. "Getting all chummy with Ryo in the kitchen."

"Oh, really?" I asked. The fork in my hand "accidentally" flew towards Kazu's direction and landed wedged in between the couch cushion that happened to be next to his head.

"Make sure you're feeling well tomorrow, though! The school festival will be starting!" Juri chattered excitedly. "I wish you were here today. We finished up the stage decorations. It looks really nice when you look at it complete and everything."

"I guess it'll just be a surprise for me tomorrow," I answered.

--

"Are you really alright?" I asked Ryo the next morning. We had come to school early to help set up for the festival.

"Good as new," Ryo reassured me. "But that's only because Doctor Ruki was there to nurse me back to health," he said, laying his head onto my shoulder.

"Great," I said, shoving him off. My hand floated towards Ryo's photo that sat in my pocket. I wanted to ask him about what happened, but I didn't know how to word it without sounding nosy. "Hey, about yesterday..." I began, Ryo cut me off, running ahead. He yanked open the classroom door.

"Ladies first."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, as I entered the room. "But, as I was saying, about yesterday..."

"RUKI! RUKI, RUKI, RUKI, RUKI!" I was suddenly ambushed by our whole class, chanting my name.

"Haaa? What?"

Juri gripped my shoulders, staring at me seriously, "We don't have any snacks for today! Weren't you in charge of that? When I called the catering company, they said they hadn't heard anything from us."

I racked my brain. Oh crap, that's right! Juri had put me in charge of food for the festival. I was supposed ask my mom to book a cater! With my mom out and Ryo sick, it totally slipped my mind."I...I forgot," I said slowly in a small voice.

"Now what? We can't get on with the festival like this... what do we tell the theatre club?"

"Did you try calling any other places? See if they..." I suggested.

"I tried. There's no place that can make enough food in time...and the places that can charge more than our budget allows," Juri cut in, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, guys," I apologized, glancing at their disappointed faces. Nobody responded. A couple people glared in my direction.

"It's alright Makino-san. We know you didn't mean it," a girl in the back said, but her tone proved otherwise.

"I mean, the festival didn't even matter to you, right? That's why you didn't even help us prepare for it. Even though we were counting on you..."

"No! That's wrong. Yesterday I had to...I had something urgent come up!" I argued, feeling my temper flair.

"It would've taken a one simple phone call to make a reservation. You had the easiest job out of all of us. If you forgot, it must've been really unimportant to you."

"Yeah. Makino-san is always tuning out in class. It's like she thinks she's too good for us."

"WHAT WAS THAT?" I asked.

"SETTLE DOWN GUYS!!" Takato yelled, but the class was already in an uproar. Everyone began screaming and shouting at each other, panicked and freaked.

I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated. I was trembling. Even if I was angry...what everyone said was true. I had to take responsibility somehow. Somebody patted my back gently. When I turned to look, Ryo bounded forward to the front of the class.

He slammed his bookbag down onto the teacher's podium, "EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW. ARGUING ISN'T GOING TO GET US ANYWHERE."

The class quieted.

"Let's think through this calmly. We still have an hour or so before the festival starts. Let's make use of it," Ryo said.

"Well, what do YOU suggest we do, Akiyama?"

He flashed his trademark grin. "Of course. I know of one simple solution."

--

I couldn't help but put the reference to Fullmetal Alchemist XD... SORRY.

_"Ryo was now sprawled across the bed in the crooked shape of a Japanese character 'O.'"_  
I wasn't sure how else to describe the shape of Ryo's sleeping figure. In Chinese/Japanese Kanji, the word/symbol means "big" (if you're familiar with Chinese or something...) You can search "Osaka" on wikipedia and look at its name written in Japanese (it's the first symbol.)


	8. School Festival Part III

**CHAPTER EIGHT**: School Festival Part III

I can only offer my apologies as to why this chapter is coming two years later, but (in an attempt) to make up for my blunder – by posting two chapters! The last chapter (ten) will be out shortly as well.

**Thank you** for your support in reviews/alerts, etc:  
cherryblossom10, CheRfuLemOv0, monkeywinz, FreyaLin, myHeartache, Fuka, lala4444, ToraHimeSama, 61wisampa, Llyssa-maiden, pigorama, Akane Naomi, Amulet Misty, Firearm-Alchemist, AngelsHeart0908, Squit Ayumin, xladykittyx, lil miss punk, Sakuya, Hiroko-ka, Freyagal, Maki, In Darkness Is Light, Aqemy Von Stein, twiinklestar, kunoichixxkanna, Tasuku-Berry Love, lauralove, anon, SpookyButt, Always have a little Faith.

_Short recap;_  
The School Festival has arrived, but because Ruki was preoccupied with tending with a sick Ryo she was unable to perform her duties. The class, angry, blames her for ruining everything when Ryo steps up and saves her with a mystery plan.

* * *

_I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated. What everyone said was true. I had to take responsibility somehow. Somebody patted my back gently. When I turned to look, Ryo bounded forward to the front of the class._

_He slammed his bookbag down onto the teacher's podium, "EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW. ARGUING ISN'T GOING TO GET US ANYWHERE."_

_The class quieted._

_"Let's think through this calmly. We still have a good hour or so before the festival starts. Let's make use of it," Ryo said._

_"Well, what do YOU suggest we do, Akiyama?"_

_He flashed his trademark grin. "Of course. I know of one simple solution."_

"This is your solution?'' I asked with narrowed eyes.

"Shhhh," Ryo shushed me as he called someone on his cell.

"Why did the whole class put so much faith in you?" I wondered outloud. We'd snuck out of the classroom so Ryo could make his call to whoever it was. Ryo shushed me again, and suddenly, his face lit up.

"Hello? Oh, hey! Yep, It's me, Ryo! Yeah, yeah..."

...

"This is amazing!" Juri exclaimed as we grabbed a couple boxes of cupcakes and headed back towards our class. "Ryo managed to get THIS MUCH food delivered to us just in time! And the price is even cheaper than our previous supplier."

"How does he manage to do all of this?" I questioned, plunking down the box at a table where a group of girls were stacking up the new pastries we'd just received from a random patisserie Ryo called earlier. I had to hand it to him. The guy really did work miracles.

"Skills. I have them," he answered from behind while patting on my head in a mock-condescending manner... and then all the good things I was thinking about him evaporated. Egotistic git. "This is the last box, class pres!" He reported to Juri.

"Nice. We've still got a little over an hour. Let's get this place cleaned up. I'll tell the theatre club we're ready to go! Can you give this to whoever supplied us with this food? It's payment," Juri said, handing me an envelope.

"I'm on it," I replied, "since it's the only useful thing I can do..."

"I'll go with you!" Ryo piped as he followed me down the staircase, towards the exit.

"Unnecessary," I commented, rounding the corner. A large, pink truck was parked at the front which I guessed was the catering truck. "Excuse me, I've got the money for the food..." I called. A familiar pair of long ears popped out from the truck door.

"Oh! It's Ruki!" the bunny, from what I could tell from the ears, flew from the truck and glomped me.

"A-ah, Mika?" I asked. Then, realization hit. "Your SKILLS were just calling up a favor?" I directed at Ryo.

"Don't insult me, it worked, didn't it?" Ryo responded.

"Man! I'm so glad to see you guys again. But I have to make a trip back to the cafe real quick. I'm coming back, though! I'm definitely not missing this festival of yours!" Mika squeaked.

"That's...cool..." I said.

"Totally. Well, see ya later!"

...

"Welcome to the showing of A Midsummer's Night Dream, may I show you to your seats?" I asked for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

"Ah! Ruki-nee-chan!" A high voice called, as somebody tackled me to the floor.

"Huh? Oh. It's you Shuichiron," I breathed. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to see the festival," she replied.

"Are you by yourself?"

"No… Alice was here too... I lost her in a crowd of boys. I don't think nii-san will be happy with that," she answered, biting her lip.

"Alice is here too?"

"Yeah. She said she wanted to see Jen working," she giggled.

"Hey! Stop talking about me when I'm not there!" Alice yelled, as she ran up to catch up with Shuichiron. "And why did you run off without me? I promised I'd take care of you today!"

"I didn't run off without you! YOU left ME!" Shuichiron accused.

"How about you two continue this conversation at your seats?" The line behind them was growing longer as they argued, so I needed to get them moving. I pushed them through rows of seats, then, finding theirs, had them sit. "Stay," I commanded.

"Woof woof, throw me a bone," Alice said sarcastically. I laughed as I headed back to continue my duties.

"I see you're doing pretty well, Ruki," Ryo commented as he passed by.

"Pretty well without you," I responded. He smiled at me, and I could feel my insides melting again.

"When's your shift over?" he asked. "Maybe we could hang out."

"I'm working all day today. My free day is tomorrow. Oh, but I have to help Juri set up tomorrow morning," I answered.

"I was about to pop into the kitchen to help with the food myself. So, you're sure you have freetime?"

"Yes, yes."

"Okay then. Your tomorrow is mine!"

"Hey! Waaaait!" I called after him, but he'd already disappeared. I grumbled to myself as I led the next guest to their seat. For the rest of the time, I kept wondering to myself if he'd consider this some sort of date of some kind. The thought made me feel slightly happy but annoyed at the same time. I tried to shake it off my mind, but the idea kept prodding my mind.

...

"Nice going everyone! Today was a success. Much thanks to Ryo for getting us a cater last minute," Juri announced at the day's end. "We've still got tomorrow left of the festival! Thanks for all of your help through all of this. We did it!"

A crowd of cheers erupted before we broke off to clean up. I trailed behind Mika to help her pack up some of the extra food.

"Hey, Ruki, do you have any feelings for Ryo?" Mika asked.

"W-why are you asking that?" I replied, my heart skipping a beat.

"Oh, just wondering. It's just that I think that I like him."

"Is that so?" I said, my voice sounding a bit higher than usual.

"Yeah. We get along really well, so I think we'd make a good couple." Mika continued confidently, "I'm pretty sure that Ryo feels the same way."

The tray of cakes I'd been holding tumbled to the floor. I jumped up, surprised at the loud CLANK the tray made when it hit the ground.

"Ah, oops. Sorry," I said nervously, kneeling down to pick them up. An awkward silence filed in between us as I continued cleaning up. When I got up to throw away the ruined cakes, Mika spoke again.

"If you don't say anything, I'm going to confess to him today. I'll ask him to be my boyfriend."

"And?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You don't have anything to say...?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, you and Ryo seem really close. I just thought that -"

"HAHAHA! Close? That's funny," I laughed dryly, after a pause, I continued - "I...I'll be rooting for you. I hope things go well," I answered. It would probably be the best for Ryo.

"Thanks," Mika smiled. "Well, I think this is about it," she commented, plopping down another box in the back of her truck. "I might swing by tomorrow. See you then."

"Bye..." I called, as she drove off.

...

"Ruki? Hello? Ruki? RUKI! RUKI MAKINO!"

"Ah...oh. Hey. Sorry Juri," I said.

"You keep spacing out this morning. Is something wrong?" Juri asked, hands on her hips. "You're not much help if you keep doing that!" It was the final day of the school festival, and I was doing some setting up for our class event.

"Sorry," I said again.

"Hmph. Oh whatever. I want to know what's up with that Mika girl! I mean, I'm glad she helped us out, but she's always clinging around Ryo!" Juri complained.

"Oh," was all I could say.

"Ah! But today you're going to go on a date with Ryo, right?" Juri questioned. "You should take that chance to confess!" She squealed.

"Confess? Confess what?"

"Oh, don't you deny it," Juri sang.

"Yeah, okay," I answered.

"You're pretty much living together now, and, no, I don't believe the maid stuff you were talking about before. I think you should take a swing at it, or else he may really go to Mika," Juri said.

I didn't answer. We spent another couple of minutes in silence as we cleaned up and unpacked.

"Ah, can you get something out of the closet for me?"

...

"Woww, I didn't think you'd get all dressed up for me! It looks really good," Ryo commented.

"Then don't think so," I replied, picking at my yukata. "Juri managed to force me into it." She innocently pretended she needed something from the storage closet when she suddenly pushed me in and locked the door behind her. The rest of the tale was too scary to be put into words. In the end, I emerged wearing this ridiculous outfit.

"The pink color suits you," he said as he took me hand and led me through the crowds.

"Pink?" I asked. The yukata was yellow.

…

I cursed under my breath as I missed again at the ring toss station. Ryo laughed in amusement.

"Y'know Ruki," he said. "There's a certain trick to this."

He took the last ring from my hand, and with one flick of the wrist, it flew from his hand to the center cone. The winning cone.

"Congratulations!" the girl running the booth said cheerily as she handed him a large teddy bear.

"Well?" he said, smiling smugly.

"I wanted the water gun, but I guess this is acceptable," I replied, shrugging. I moved on to the next booth. I had been playing booth to booth, but I hadn't won a single thing! Ryo, on the other hand, didn't have enough hands to carry everything he had won so far. It was irritating.

I knew what was coming. He expected me to give up and beg for him to help me. Then he would oh-so-casually take my hand as he tried to teach me the little tricks and hints that would help you win this rigged festival games.

I refused to give in.

"What's this?" I asked the person at the booth, who was shuffling a small stack of cards.

"It's a guessing game," he explained. "There are two cards marked with stars out of this pile of six. You have to pick one."

He dealt down the cards faced down.

This seemed easy enough. It was based on luck, so even the Master Ryo didn't have the upperhand on this.

"I think it's this card," Ryo said, pointing to the outermost one. I picked the one on the opposite end.

The guy flipped over both cards.

Ryo's had the star.

…

"I give up!" I announced, ripping the hairpins out of my hair and letting it fall past my shoulders. They were starting to make my head sore. "I played every single game here and lost every single one!"

Because I always lose when it comes to you!

Ryo gave me a sympathetic smile as he followed me. I was heading back towards the school to find Juri. I didn't care if today was my day off, I suddenly felt like working.

"Don't feel too bad," Ryo said sympathetically. "You know they're rigged."

"Yeah. They're rigged so that you win."

"Perhaps they're in favor of handsome, dashing, young men."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"I'll treat you to something. C'mon Ruki! Get into the festival mood!"

I turned around to sock him in the nose, but I was face to face with the large teddy bear he'd bought. I stared at it for a long while before bursting into laughter. He pulled the bear aside, revealing his smiling face.

"Congratulations!" someone said, startling me. I jumped up to see someone from Class F approaching us. "You're the 100th couple to pass by today! And for that, you get a free photograph at our photo booth."

"Oh, we're not a…" I began, but Ryo rushed past me. He hooked his arm into mine as he went, dragging me into the photo booth.

"Oooooh," he said excitedly, gazing at the numerous buttons before us. He poked through a couple of frames on the screen, picking the one he liked best. I just watched in amusement as he browsed through them.

It was then I realized that I'd never been in a photo booth before. It was more of something Juri would do.

"Smile!" Ryo announced.

"Wha?" I was caught off guard when the flash went off. "Hey, I wasn't ready!"

Ryo was already sliding out of the booth to the printer to check and see how our picture came out. I followed after, glancing over his shoulder at the print in his hands. He had picked out a Hello Kitty template for our picture. Ryo was smiling, wide as usual, whereas I had a bewildered, confused expression on my face.

Ryo laughed as he pointed at me in the photo.

I snatched the prints away and stuffed them in my pocket, but he was still snorting as he walked on. I couldn't help but join him. His laughter was becoming contagious.

Well, what do you know? I thought to myself. I'm actually having fun.

…

I chomped down on my last piece of takoyaki.

"I wanted that one," Ryo said as he watched me dispose of the container with sad eyes.

"Go buy your own," I said mercilessly.

"But Ruki dearest," he began.

"Nope!" I said, covering my ears. "Not listening!"

"Ruki…"

"Still not listening…"

"Ruki!"

My shoe caught something, and I tumbled forward. I felt our photo booth print slip out of my pocket as I landed.

"Well, I was trying to tell you that there was a bucket there…" Ryo said, looming over me. He offered out a hand, which I took. I picked up the picture as I got up, Ryo paused, looking at my hands.

"What?" I asked.

"Where did you get that?"

I peered down at my hands. It wasn't the print I was holding, but the photo of Ryo and his father. I must've had them in my jeans and transferred them to my yutaka while I was changing…

"I just…" I started. His eyes looked dangerous. I was suddenly reminded of the argument he had with his Mom. Holding the photo now, I felt like I was the intruder.

"Were you snooping?"

"I…" I said. "No. It was lying on the floor the day you fainted." Even in my own ears, I sounded oddly defensive.

He tore the photo out of my hands, ripped it in half then dropped it to the ground. "There. It's gone."

"What are you doing!" I snapped, snatching the pieces from the ground. I turned on heel and headed towards the school. Surely there would be tape.

"Hey, give that back."

"You discarded it. Finder's Keepers."

"It's not yours to keep."

I whipped back around. "And it wasn't yours to tear. You know, I used to admire you… maybe it was a miniscule part of my brain that thought that… but it was still there. Why are you running away from your problems now?"

"That's none of…"

"My concern?" I asked, putting a hand to my chest. "Oh, yes it is. It is so my concern, because… because…"

I didn't dare complete that sentence.

A long moment passed between us, glaring angrily at each other. And though we were at odds now, this was probably the most honest we'd ever been between one another. Ryo ran his hands through his hair in frustration, then blew out a slow exhale.

"Sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I blew up and I shouldn't have," he said.

"But you're not going to confront your father," I said, not afraid to put it in words as I held up the torn photo pieces. He looked taken aback that I knew it was his father in the picture, but regained his posture.

"Never," he replied.

"Then I can't accept your apology," I said, spinning around and leaving him in the dust.


	9. Disappearance

**CHAPTER NINE**: Disappearance  
Note: I was in a bit of a rush and didn't proofread this. I apologize in advance for incoherency! On the flip side, this is the second to last chapter. The last chapter is being worked on right at this moment.

Thank you, all, for sticking with me if you are still reading this! (And welcome, if you're a new reader!)

I would like to point out I uploaded two chapters at once, so please be careful to read chapter eight as well!

* * *

"_Sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I blew up and I shouldn't have," he said. _

"_But you're not going to confront your father," I said, not afraid to put it in words as I held up the torn photo pieces. _

"_Never," he replied._

"_Then I can't accept your apology," I said, spinning around and leaving him in the dust._

The house was quiet and empty.

This is what I wanted, wasn't it? Peace and quiet? Sanctuary? But I found no comfort in the silence of the cold house. My mom was out. Ms. Akiyama was at work. Ryo had disappeared this morning and hadn't come back.

Even with my socks on, the tiled floor felt freezing.

I poured myself out a bowl of cereal. The pattering of the small cereal flakes sounded loud, echoing in the kitchen. I clanked the spoon against the bowl, just for the sake of sound.

My muscles were sore from working yesterday. I stretched them out, listening to the crackle of my bones as I did. Breakfast slid on. The bowl of cereal seemed to be endless. I just kept on eating spoonful after spoonful as I listened to the slow ticking of the clock.

Absence was a scary thing.

Being along was a scary thing.

I washed my bowl. I let the water splash all over, making a big mess. I mopped it up, watching my fingers turn wrinkly under the running water. I ran around the house, thumping loudly as I went. I opened and closed doors. I kicked baskets and walls. I turned on the radio up high.

This is what I wanted, wasn't it?

This way I would win the bet.

I would win…

But it didn't feel like a victory at all.

…

Juri stormed in a little after lunch.

"Why didn't you answer my phone calls!" she exclaimed when I answered the door. I gave a shrug as I sat down on the living room couch.

"You want some tea?"

"No, I do not want tea Ruki Makino!" she snapped, sitting down across from me. "I want to know why you're being so depressed… over a guy no less."

"I am not…" I began, but Juri cut me off.

"Takato saw Ryo today. He looked pretty bad too," she said, playing the guilt card. And it worked.

I looked down at my socks. "Not my fault," I said, refusing to admit it.

"You two make me want to bang my head against a wall repeatedly," Juri mumbled under her breath. "C'mon!" she said, tugging at my arm. "Let's go hang out. Girls day out. I'll call up Alice. You need to get out of the house."

"I'm fine," I said.

"I know you better than that," Juri nagged. "You are _not_ fine. If I left you here now, I wouldn't be a very good friend would I? Whom do you take me for?"

I couldn't help but break into a smile.

…

Three stores, thirty-two dresses, and six pairs of shoes later, Juri skipped down the street – arms laden with purchases. Alice looked pretty happy with her own bags, though not nearly as excessive as Juri's.

Juri pouted at me.

"I don't understand how you can buy so little."

"I practice practicality," I said, not bothering to tone down my sarcasm. "I don't buy things I don't need."

"So says the girl who bought only a bag of jellybeans," Alice criticized as I chomped down on another one.

"Jellybeans are a necessity."

"Clothes are too!" Juri protested. "Would you rather I go around naked?"

"Your choice," I said, shrugging. Alice laughed as Juri started whining about how little I cared about her.

I remembered this street we were on. If we kept walking down, we'd run into Mika's café.

"You guys want to get something to eat?" I asked.

"You're already eating."

"But you haven't," I pointed out. We rounded the corner, and I saw Mika's café coming into sight.

"Oh, this is the place that catered for us!" Juri said excitedly. "I really liked their cakes. They were really tasty."

"Okay, sure. Let's go in," Alice said with a bit of reluctance.

I reached my hand out to pull out the door, then paused. Every single muscle in my body froze, and I felt my feet anchor to the ground. I couldn't move.

Through the glass, I saw Mika smiling happily as she chatted with someone.

Ryo.

He smiled his trademark smile as he replied to something he said. The two of them laughed, like a picture perfect couple.

I dropped my bag of jellybeans.

"Ruki?" I heard Juri ask. Right at that moment, Ryo and Mika turned to face me. Ryo and I locked eyes for a brief moment. I narrowed my eyes and looked away.

"I'm not hungry anymore," I said.

…

"I don't understand," Juri said, shaking her head. We had returned to my house now.

"Mika told me that she was going to ask Ryo out. I guess they're an item now," I said, giving a nonchalant shrug.

"But… you love him. You know you do," Alice said.

I laughed bitterly. Please? Love wasn't in my vocabulary. I was above such frivolous feelings… wasn't I?

"You have to fight for him," Juri said, deciding for me. "You have to."

I was about to argue – to tell her that I couldn't possibly love. That someone like me couldn't love, that I didn't deserve to love or be loved. It was impossible. Unlikely. But I swallowed my retorts back, as if I didn't have the courage to voice them.

Me? Being afraid of speaking my mind?

Imagine that.

I was stronger than that. Or at least, I used to be… what happened to that girl? Could ten days really change somebody? The answer sounded somewhere in the back of my mind, but I refused to listen to it.

"Can you guys go?" I said, my voice sounding harsher than I intended. "I really and truly need to be alone. To think."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Juri said.

"Got it," Alice interrupted, looping her arm around Juri's to drag her out the door for me.

"Thanks," I said, trying to make it sound as genuine as I possibly could.

"We're having another tamers gathering in a few of days. You'll come, right?"

I nodded.

…

I did my homework. Or at least, I tried to do my homework. Every time I got the slightest bit distracted, the image of Mika and Ryo laughing with each other came to mind. I cursed at myself as my pencil snapped again.

A day had passed since then. I hadn't seen Ryo at all, except for when I heard the door open and close last night… but even then, I wondered if I imagined the sound because I'd wanted to hear it.

I wondered if I also imagined him creeping through the door and stroking my hair.

This time I accidentally bored a hole into my paper. More images of Mika and Ryo together flashed through my mind.

I will not fall apart. I commanded myself.

The phone rang at that moment.

I got up from my desk and crossed my room, out to the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Ruki sweetie," Mom's voice echoed over the speaker. "Miss Akiyama and I are busy and we won't be able to come home. You'll be okay with Ryo?"

Like I had a choice.

"Yeah," I replied distractedly. "But he isn't home."

There was a pause.

"He told his mother he was going home an hour ago," Mom said cautiously. "Can you check if…"

The phone slipped from my hands, dangling off the table top. The only thing that kept it from crashing to the floor was the cord. I spun towards Ryo's room and pushed open the door – half expecting to see his lazing figure on his bed.

But, of course, he wasn't there.

Only his unmade bed.

Something didn't feel right about this.

I walked in further into the room, glancing around. I still couldn't figure out what was off...

It didn't come into place until I reached the closet.

It was half empty, clothes thrown around everywhere. A good chunk of his clothes seemed missing, and there were open suitcases strewn around. He had been packing to go somewhere. Or he had packed. He was long gone by now. I immediately began racking through his shelves, searching for something…

I remembered seeing it whenever I cleaned his room the other day. I was frantic in my search, overturning every single document and feeling my heart sink when I didn't find the right one. I was getting paper cuts in my rush, to which I ignored.

Finally, I went through the last shelf and concluded it was gone.

The letter from his father.

…

Miss Akiyama was surprisingly calm with the situation.

"I knew that he would cave in," she told me whenever I reported the news to her over the phone moments later. "I wanted to. The boy needs to see his father and get some answers."

"Answers?"

"Haven't you ever wondered?" she asked me. "About your own dad. Why he left? Things of that nature…"

It was true. I had thought of those once upon a time, but I put it way past me. I didn't need to know, but it wasn't like I could anyway. My old man was long gone. I couldn't demand answers from a corpse.

But Ryo had been so adamant in not wanting to see his father. What brought about this sudden change?

An unsettling feeling pulsed through me. I didn't like this new outcome. I couldn't just sit and wait for him to return, all the while wondering how he was doing.

"Miss Akiyama?" I questioned. "Where does your ex-husband live?"

…

Tokyo. I was headed to Tokyo.

All I had with me was a backpack full of essentials. I watched the buildings outside the window as I rode the taxi. I consulted the map once more, making sure I knew the route. I'd gone through it so many times before I had it memorized, but I still felt the need to be cautious.

Technically, the address indicated that Ryo's dad lived in the outskirts of town. I would have to be careful. Outskirts usually meant dangerous and gang-ridden. Oh joy.

The taxi came to a sudden stop. I slammed into the seat in front of me.

"Hey!" I began.

"I don't go any farther than here," the driver said, cutting me off. He pulled out an open palm towards me. I slapped some money into his greedy hands and got out. He zoomed away, not feeling guilty about leaving a young girl in the middle of nowhere.

Well. He didn't notice that I didn't tip him.

If I was right, I had to head down straight this road.

So I began walking.

…and walking…

…and walking…

I slid a hand over my forehead, wiping off my sweat. The hot sun was high in the sky today, beating down on me. I contemplated on stopping by an inn, but realized that there were none around here. Ahead of me there was nothing but forest.

I ventured forward. Even if there were an inn, they probably wouldn't let me in.

The gravel road transformed into a dirt path. I glanced around. None of my surroundings seemed to correspond with the map and the direction I had had memorized.

Oh god.

Was I lost?

…

My cell phone was out of service.

I was tempted to throw the thing at a nearby tree, but forced myself to be calm and put it back in my pocket instead. I breathed in and out to control my frustration. I had to stay clear-headed. I'd gotten into worse situations before. If I could get out of those, I could get out of this one.

In this case, it was simple. I just had to backtrack.

I turned a 180 and went straight back from the way I came…

But which way did I come from?

Well, great.

Okay. Plan number 2. Every wild forest has an end. If I kept walking straight, I would reach it. I tried not to think of pessimistic things like – it may be a while before I reached that end.

I decided to turn back in the direction I was going and walked straight on.

I wondered when it was that I had become so impulsive, because it was an impulse that led me here on a wild goose chase to find Ryo. Wasn't I the rational one? Maybe I wasn't nearly as smart and calculative as Jenrya, but I wasn't flighty like Takato. I knew that acting on your emotions could lead to bad decisions. That's why I didn't let myself have emotions, because they led you to do stupid things.

But here I was, acting on a feeling…

A feeling of…

Of…

I lost my footing. I felt the ground disappear behind me as I tumbled down, down, down. I inhaled sharply in my tumult. There was nothing under to hold me steady. Panic flooded my veins.

I closed my eyes, ready for impact…

And then it came.

I landed, landed hard on my back. I groaned, testing out my limbs to see if I could move them. Okay. It didn't seem like I'd injured anything. I gingerly sat up and opened my eyes.

All I could see was darkness.


	10. And the winner is?

**Disclaimer:** No, I do not own Digimon!

**-DRUMROLLL-** This is it! The last chapter. It's very strange to compare the first chapter to the last, because it was written in the duration of three years… but something I updated once a year (usually during the summer!) I don't know about other people, but I can catch the intervals between chapters that I didn't update for a long year. It's always amusing to see how much I have changed since then.

**Thanks** for your support!  
Kimiko Heroux, Digifan23, AngelofLight95, Amulet Misty¸ BlindingDarkness1, TehWriter, anon, Schokopueppchen

**CHAPTER TEN**: And the winner is…?

* * *

_I landed, landed hard on my back. I groaned, testing out my limbs to see if I could move them. Okay. It didn't seem like I'd injured anything. I gingerly sat up and opened my eyes._

_All I could see was darkness._

Time passed by seemingly slowly. It was hard to tell, exactly, what time it was. It was too dark to see my watch. I just sat there, endlessly alone.

This is what I wanted and this is what I got, I thought bitterly.

Makino Ruki was stuck, trapped in a dark trench in the middle of nowhere. Waiting for the snakes to slither out and eat her brains.

I swung my backpack around so that it now sat in my lap. I searched around blindly for a bag of chips that I had packed. Upon finding it, I pulled it out and immediately began eating.

If I let my hunger go out the window, my insanity would follow soon after.

With the light of my cell phone, I had tried scaling back up the wall with no avail. And to my luck, my cell phone battery ran out shortly after. I'd been so concentrated on trying to climb up I forgot that I hadn't recharged it.

Would anyone find me here?

No. Probably not. That's why I needed to formulate a plan of my own to get out.

I finished off my chips and began searching around my backpack again. Clothes, some snacks, and money. Useless, useless, useless. Bah.

There had to be something I could do. There was no way I was trapped here. I would not die here. I refused to die here. Not when things were so messed up. Not when it was my duty to fix them again – and how I hated leaving unfinished business.

Or maybe…

Just maybe…

It wasn't my job to fix everything. I thought back to seeing Mika and Ryo in the sweets shop. Was I really needed anymore?

…

My stomach growled. I ignored it. I had already long finished my last bag of chips. I had no sense of time in this abyss. Had seconds gone by? Or minutes? Or days? Had anyone noticed I was missing by now?

Hunger tore at my chest. Never had I been so hungry. Never had I been so desperate for food, for warmth, for light. Never had I been so lonely before.

It was so easy to fall into despair when you were lost in the dark. No matter how strong someone is, darkness can catch anyone and take him or her prisoner. It's only a matter of time. Tick, tick, ticking away and taking people along with it.

Swallowing you whole and making you lose yourself.

After a while, hunger was another accepted part of the numbing pain. A constant sting at the pit of my stomach. But what else could I possibly do?

All I had was the darkness, and in the darkness I had to wait.

…

"Ruki?"

I blinked. I was clearly hallucinating, because that's what happens when you go crazy. You start wishing for things you couldn't have. You start hearing the things you want to hear.

But when, prey tell, would I ever _want_ to hear _that_ person's voice calling out for my name?

"Ruki? Are you there?"

I was convinced it wasn't an illusion.

"Here!" I called out. My voice sounded a bit gravelly from lack of use. I cleared my throat and tried again, louder, "Down here!" I swallowed down some spit, trying to regain my voice again. "I'm right here! Ryo! Ryo!"

And then, I saw it – a speck of light far at the end of the tunnel, far into the darkness.

"Ruki?"

The light flickered then shined into my face. I winced at the sight of it, not used to seeing light.

"Found you," he said in a relieved voice. "Come on, I'll help you out."

I got up to my feet, only to fall again. I groaned. Had I injured myself? I gingerly swiveled my left foot, and it seared out in pain. I cringed.

"I can't… I can't move," I called up to him. "My foot… I hurt it."

"Hang on. I'll be down there in a sec!"

I heard the sound of footsteps and the dirt shifting. Rocks rumbled down, bits and pieces hitting me on the head. Ryo was scaling down towards me. I could make out his figure with the light of his flashlight which he held in between his teeth.

"There," he said, landing swiftly beside me.

I looked up to him, then looked away again. I wasn't sure how to react to his presence anymore. Suddenly I couldn't remember how I used to act around him, how I used to be. I was feeling overly self-conscious in this small, cramp space. I could feel his body heat. He was so close, so unnaturally close, that it sent tingles up my spine.

He cursed under his breath, snapping me out of my reverie.

"What?" I asked.

"The rope I used to lower myself down just snapped."

"Meaning?"

"Now we're _both_ stuck."

"You idiot!" I yelled, socking him on the shoulder. There was a pause as I took in what I just did. I clenched and unclenched my fist. Then suddenly Ryo burst out into laughter, for no apparent reason.

I looked at his amused face, bewildered for a second, before joining in laughing with him. _This was what it was like before_, I thought to myself as I finally recalled. I'm only ever this natural when it comes to him.

…

We sat side by side, trying to stay warm in the cold. Ryo told me he had gone out with somebody in search of me, so his partner should be coming around. Apparently, my mom had called him a bit after I left. When he heard that I hadn't arrived yet, he set off to find me.

He tracked down the busses and taxis I had taken to get here, following their path here to where I had fallen.

"This was just outside of the hole," he said, pulling out the print pictures we had taken at the school festival. Embarrassed, I looked away. I hadn't meant to bring those along with me… it just happened to be in my backpack when I departed. I guess I hadn't noticed that I dropped it.

"What were you doing here?" I asked. "It has something to do with your dad, right?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice slightly gruff. "I came to talk to him." He laughed humorlessly. "I told him to stay the hell away from our family and never to bother us again."

"Good job," I said, patting his hand.

"It was thanks to you," he said. "Because you forced me to."

"I-I didn't do anything," I said, turning away.

"You did a lot," he amended. "I really need you."

"Don't say that!" I barked.

"What? It's true. I need you."

"Those are words for your girlfriend," I spat.

"Girl…friend?"

"Oh, don't joke around. You and Mika. She told me she was going to ask you out."

"That she did, but…"

"Exactly! So stop fooling around."

"But," he interrupted me. "I'm engaged already to another woman so I declined her offer."

I froze, taking in this new information.

"Oh," was all I could say.

He laughed softly, then put a hand to my head. He ruffled my hair and pulled me closer to him. I gave out a small squeak of protest, but stopped when I felt him trembling beside me.

"Are…are you really afraid of the dark?" I asked, recalling the incident he locked himself in a cabinet that one detention day. He laughed it off in response. "Idiot," I repeated, leaning my head against his.

"Ruki?" he said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I love you. I mean it. I really do love you."

He let out a loud yawn. I paused for a moment in contemplation before letting out a long sigh.

"You know what?" I said. "I think I lo-"

"Hello?" someone called from above. "Anyone down there?"

I jumped up instantly, then felt my foot injury flare up, and fell to the ground again. "Yes!" I screamed in reply.

"We're coming down in just a second! You just wait there!"

"You hear that?" I asked Ryo.

"Yep, we're saved!"

…

We took the train back home. I felt disgusting, covered in dirt. Apparently we'd only been there for roughly two days, though it had felt like an eternity down there.

"Home, sweet, home," Ryo announced.

"Yippee," I said in a dry voice, though I was actually relieved we were finally back. Ryo opened the door, and I stepped in…

"SURPRISE!"

The lights flickered on, and streamers were popped. I blinked as I was ambushed by silly string.

"Wha…what the?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUKI!"

I pulled off some streamers out of my face and took a good look around the room. There was a large banner in the living room with my name on it, a birthday cake right below it. Baffled¸ I shot a look at Ryo who gave an innocent face. So, he was in on this too, huh?

Ryo sauntered over the fridge where he pulled out a foil-wrapped package. He opened it to reveal a tray of cream puffs.

"You said you liked them, so I asked Mika to show me how to make them. That's why I was at the café the other day," he said.

I glanced around the room at the faces of my happy friends, all beaming at me. I stared blankly at them for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, I looked back at Ryo who was grinning at me like I was the most winning thing he'd ever seen.

"I…" I finally said. "I need to take a shower."

…

I toweled off quickly, trying to dry out my hair so I could return to the party. I always snorted at people on television who forgot about their birthdays. I now had full sympathy for them since I had forgotten about my own.

"Let me get that," Ryo said, slipping into my room. He had the hair dryer in one hand and cranked it on, letting the heat seep into my hair. I just sat and watched him work his fingers through my hair. It was an amusement to him to run his hands through the red locks.

We were quiet.

He finished up, putting the blow dryer down on my desk. I looked up at him through the reflection of my dresser mirror, and he looked back at me.

"You know. I think you had something to tell me when we were down in that trench."

"Really?" I asked, putting on an innocent air. "I don't recall."

"You want me to remind you?" He asked, smirking.

"I'm sure if I forgot it wasn't that important in the first place," I answered, shrugging it off as I got up to leave. He caught me by the arm, twisting me back to face him again.

For the record, I _let _him snake his arms around my waist and up against my back. I _let _him lean in close, invading my personal bubble. I _let_ him press his lips to mine, and I _let _him kiss me for a spell or two.

The party went on outside, people yelling and screaming in excitement – but I was here, in this room, in his arms. I was unaware of the others running around, because that was another world in another time.

He pulled away, smiling lightly. I averted my eyes, trying to look nonchalant, trying not to bring attention to my flushed face.

He laughed. "Does this mean I win the bet?"

"Hmmm," I thought to myself. "I don't think so. As I recall, the deal was ten days."

"It is indeed the tenth day," he answered with a confused expression.

I shook my head. "Tenth day and a half," I corrected.

This time, he rolled his eyes at me. "That is such a cheap trick."

I scoffed. "Don't be such a sore loser."

Then he leaned in again, and I _let_ him kiss me one more time.

_Akiyama Ryo,_ I thought as I smiled against his lips. _You lost the bet from the beginning, idiot - because I've always loved you all this time. Forever and more. Until death do us apart._

_

* * *

_

Yes, there we have it folks - the end, the conclusion, el fin de Ten Days! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I feel so accomplished that I am finally done with it.

I don't know if I have any more Ryuki or Digimon fics still in me, but I have plenty of other stories to check out on my profile -PLUG-

Thank you, again, for reading if you did! Bye!


	11. Extra: 10YEARS

**Disclaimer**; Still don't own Digimon...

**SURPRISE! **I came back with a special for Ten Days.

As to why... TehWriter asked if I was going to write a sequel, possibly about a wedding.

When I first started writing this, I had in planned in my mind that I_ wouldn't_ write about in a wedding because:  
1) Too many a fanfic end with a wedding. It's become trite.  
2) We already know that they're going to be married. I even alluded to it at the end of the last chapter - _"Until death do us apart."_  
3) I'm OCD and I wanted this story to end with ten chapters because it was titled 10days. (Okay, this was the stupidest reason.)

BUT as I milled it over in my mind, I came up with a new idea with how to work in a wedding. Thus, this extra was written! Ta-daaa!

**10YEARS**

* * *

"No."

"But I didn't even…"

"No."

"Princess…"

I shot him a glare. He smiled sheepishly. How was it that at age twenty-five Akiyama Ryo wasn't any different from when he was fifteen? Perhaps he was born on leap day and only aged every four years. That would mean he currently had the mindset of a six year old.

"Can't you imagine it? For one second?"

"We're getting married. _We_ are. Not Barbie and Ken. So stop that."

He pouted, sinking in his seat. I sighed slowly and looked at my watch.

"It's getting late. Let's head back home."

He perked up immediately at this idea, partly because heading home gave him an excuse to sling his arm around my neck and pull me close to him – which he was already doing – as he trailed towards the bus stop.

"Can't believe the wedding's tomorrow," I grumbled.

"You could be more excited about it."

I shrugged. "Pass," I said, yawning.

"I bet that if we went by my idea you'd be more excited."

"Just stop talking."

…

I adjusted my hem nervously. Juri smiled reassuringly at me as she slapped me for fidgeting. I grunted, letting my hands hang by my side. The wedding march sounded – Jenrya was at the piano. I breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm myself. Today was the day. Today was the day I've been waiting ten years for.

The flower girl – Juri and Takato's daughter – made her way down the aisle, followed by the ring bearer – Alice and Jenrya's son. I hummed softly to myself under my breath along with the music as the doors burst open for the bride's entrance.

Ryo emerged – decked in a stunning, white wedding dress. He smiled politely at the guests, his arm hooked with his mother's, as he walked down the aisle. We made eye contact half-way through. His smile grew wider as a single tear trailed down his cheek. I looked away, embarrassed, smoothing out creases in my tux.

I found myself smiling as well as I extended my hand out to him. He took it, and now stood by my side.

The priest cleared his throat.

"We are here today for the enjoinment of Akiyama Ryo and Makino Ruki."

Our hands found each other in the middle, and I held onto his tightly.

"Akiyama Ryo, do you take Makino Ruki as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Makino Ruki, do you take Akiyama Ryo as your lawfully wedding wife?"

"I do."

Ryo turned to face me, breaking out into a sly grin. "Is that a bet?"

I smiled back. "You betcha."

"You may now kiss the bride."

I grabbed him by the waist, and dipped him down against my knee in an arc. He looked surprised at the action, but pleased as I leaned in closer.

"This is our stop," he said.

I blinked.

"What?"

…

Someone nudged me at my side. I groaned, turning over.

"This is our stop," Ryo repeated. I opened my eyes slowly as Ryo pulled me up from the bus seat and down the aisle.

"Oh, right," I replied.

He looked at me strangely. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I answered distractedly. "It's just that… that idea of yours?"

"Yes?" he said excitedly, bouncing on the heels of his feet.

"We are not doing it. We are NOT crossdressing for our wedding!"

"...WHY NOT? It's different! It's non-traditional! It's unique! It's..."

"No."

"But but but..."

I stopped and looked at him with narrowed eyes. He shut up immediately, the playfulness in his expression dropping. Instead, he offered out his hand to me. I took it, interlacing my fingers with his as he headed down the street. I rolled my eyes, imagining how in the world I would survive the rest of my life with this guy. I realized that this would be the beginning of else. Something the two of us had never faced before, but would have to face now. Something entirely new, entirely different.

We locked eyes, a competitive edge shining in his, and we knew that the challenge had begun.


End file.
